Treacherous Paths 3: Love and Hate
by Elven Warrior Princess
Summary: How strong can Thranduil stand in the midst of life's challenges? Now completed!
1. Chapter 1

Treacherous Paths 3: Love and hate

**Treacherous Paths 3: ****Love and Hate**

A/N: 'Gasp' can it be, no way. That's right, guys, the first chapter in this story. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous story and the chapters in between.

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: Like before, I do not own the characters that we all know and love or hate.

Summary: Sequel to Treacherous Paths and Treacherous Paths 2: Choices, I would recommend reading those first. How strong can Thranduil stand in the midst of life's challenges?

**Chapter 1**

Four seasons passed since the birth of Aranhir, the heir apparent. To elves the passing of a year was like a day's cycle of Anor. Winter had just passed and blossoms were beginning to bloom and grow. Elves loved the season of spring, when everything looked like they were coming alive again after remaining dormant in the winter's chill. Waking to the sound of singing birds was always welcomed by all, even the king appreciated them.

The sun was just beginning to rise to greet the day. The soft glow entered through the roof of the palace, lighting up everything in sight.

Birds were not the only ones that greeted the day with a song; elves were famous for their gift of song and they would sing anytime and everytime, no matter the situation.

The peace and serenity of every morning were always reliable in making themselves known...until it was shattered by the wailing of the newest elf in Greenwood.

Aranhir's cries could be heard by everyone in the palace and even by the ones that were just outside. Oropher sprung out of bed and made his way to his baby, who was sleeping in a hand-carved cot just beside his parents' bed. The king picked the child up and rocked him while whispering softly in elvish.

Theliel had also awakened, but she did not get up. She had been told by her husband that she was not to tend to the child unless he was to be fed. The rest Oropher took care of, making sure that Aranhir was to be raised by him. This had certainly been tough on his wife, she so badly wanted to hold the child in her arms and mother him. At least she still had Thranduil, and she was grateful for that, for he was a wonderful son, yet that did not stop her from wanting another child to hold in her lap and sing to sleep.

Tears of longing filled her eyes but they did not fall. It was not like she just accepted Oropher's proposition, but he was still head of the family and kingdom and she just had to accept the decisions that he made, no matter how much it hurt.

Җ

Oropher and Theliel were not the only ones to be awakened by the infant's crying. It had been going on like this since his brother was born. Thranduil did not mind and knew that he could not blame the child, but it made him wonder if he was that bad when he was just a little over a year old.

He sighed inwardly while staring through the roof. He had become a touch jealous of his baby brother, not only did he take his right to be king but also captured his father's attention just by crying or laughing. Life, indeed, was not fair, but he promised himself that he would love his brother and treat him thusly, he would not allow Oropher to see how upset he really was; that would be like admitting defeat. _'No, I love Aranhir and should he become king, after all, then so be it, I will honour and respect him as such.'_ As for his father, there was nothing more that he could do, Oropher would always be Oropher, no matter what.

He looked out the window to find the sun higher than what he would have liked, _'That is just marvellous, I slept in late, I never sleep in late!'_

Thranduil all but hopped out of bed and start his morning rituals. Today, he was going to lead a patrol and arriving late was not going to make a very good impression. He quickly pulled his hunting clothes on, brushed his hair; it was now long enough to tie back, the pony would tickle the base of his neck, but he did not mind, far from it, he was glad that his hair was growing, but he still allowed wisps of hair to hang in his face. It annoyed his mother to no end as she kept attempting to push the bangs away from his face and eyes.

With a smile on his face, he strapped his bow and quiver to his back. He was almost sorry that he gave his knives to his father, but the feeling would pass when he remembered why he did it.

He reached up to his sword that was hanging on the wall and tied it around his waist. Jogging down the hallway and into the dining-room, he gave his mother a chaste kiss on the cheek before grabbing an apple and jogging the rest of the way into the courtyard. He sighed with relief when he found that not everybody had arrived yet and the rest were still tying supplies to their horses.

Thranduil went to collect his own horse, Barasath. The magnificent beast strutted around as though he owned the place. Thanduil shook his head and chuckled, "You, mellon nin, are a real piece of work, you know that."

The horse snorted while prancing about, only too happy to be out of the stifling stable.

Having all that he needed on his person, Thranduil had no need for a saddle and elves did not use tacks or reins to steer their horses. He vaulted onto the back of the horses, causing even the other elves to watch in astonishment, even though they have seen him do it countless times.

The others were still tying things to their horses and checking that everything was tied tightly. Thranduil glanced around behind him and saw his father coming down the steps and carrying Aranhir. The older prince ignored them and continued to look around, for no real apparent reason. As he did so, he saw an elf that he did not expect to see and groaned inwardly.

Vanmoriel had her hair tied back in a fairly loose bun, allowing strands of hair to hang down her neck and around her beautiful face. She was dressed in a scarlet gown that seemed flow all around her.

'_What is __she doin?,' _Thought Thranduil as she spoke to each of the now mounted elves. She never did that before and she had no reason to. Finally, she came to stand beside his horse, "Beware, my lady, for this horse has a temper that could match a balrog with a headache." Thranduil said, hoping that he would do something that would frighten her away without physically harming her, but Barasath only snorted, '_Oh, now you behave, why does that not surprise me?" _The horse whickered as though he was enjoying his mastered discomfort, causing Thranduil to glare at his not-so-faithful steed.

Vanmoriel laughed nonchalantly, showing no sign of fear for the horse.

Barasath was starting to feel uncomfortable in the woman's presence as his ears were twitching and started prancing ever so slightly, "My lady, it is advisable that you keep your distance from the horse."

The dark-haired beauty did not pay any heed to his words, "Nonsense, I have merely come to say farewell to all that are leaving and particularly to you." She placed a hand on his knee, which caused him to jump and glare down at her. She continued to stand on her toes to peck him on his cheek, wallowing in his scent, "Did I ever tell you how good you smelt?" She leered

Thranduil jerked away and encouraged his horse to step away from the elleth, hoping she would take the hint. He sighed, relieved that everyone was accounted for and Oropher was making a departing speech. His mother came up to him and put her hand on his knees in a similar fashion that Vanmoriel did, only it was a touch that only a mother could have. She too leaned up and kissed him on the cheek, "Do not let that elleth get to you."

He smiled tenderly down at her and responded, "I will try, but if she continues in this fashion I will not be held responsible for my actions."

"You may only do something to her if you do not expect me to hold you back," She spoke with a twinkle in her eye and an ever-subtle wink. Turning more serious, she said, "Thranduil, be safe. I do not know how but you have a knack for attracting trouble."

The prince laughed and touched her cheek with his fingers, "Have no fear, mother dearest, I will steer as far from danger as possible, unless there is need to take action." He heard the horses' snorts and whickers of impatience, "Farewell, I must go before the horses commit mutiny and encourage their masters to do the same." He whispered loud enough so that everyone could hear, which caused the others to laugh heartily. With a final look at his family, he rode to the front and led the elves through the forest.

Җ

It had not always been necessary to send out patrols and scouts, yet there was no harm in practicing caution. Rumours were that orcs and goblins from the Misty Mountains were growing bolder and even dared to pass the borders of Greenwood. But the question that Thranduil pondered was what dared the orcs and motivated them to walk deliberately into possible danger? He knew that they were not the sharpest arrow in a quiver and unless they had a leader they were a clueless bunch and would not venture so far from their holes.

The more Thranduil thought about it the more he was convinced that they were driven by a guiding hand. He looked around to see that the other elves looked just as grim as he felt. Perhaps they were thinking along the same line of thought as he was.

Sadron rode to the front to speak with Thranduil, "My prince, we are nearing Ruid en' Uial."

Thranduil nodded, "Yes, I know," he said not unkindly, but he did get a touch annoyed when the obvious was pointed out. It was not like he was blind or oblivious of where they were headed.

Ruid en' Uial was the largest, most beautiful glade in Greenwood. It was named Glade of Twilight because of the pool of water. Tiny sparks of silver lights were always seen in the depths, like little pinpricks of stars. No one really knew what they were or where they came from. Near the pool stood a rock that shone with the same looking lights in it. In the day, when the sun shone down, the little lights glowed brighter, almost causing the entire glade to glow and at night, the light of the moon gave them a soft, silver glow that reflected just around the area. The grass sparkled as though made of emerald, along with the leaves, right up to the very tops of the trees. The perfumes of the flowers were intoxicating and could be smelt a mile away.

Thranduil dismounted from his horse and the rest followed his example. He led them to the glade and already found himself relaxing and even smiling. He had been tense since Vanmoriel had spoken to him earlier that day. The prince stroked Barasath's neck while the horse was drinking from the refreshing pool.

Thranduil decided that he, too, was going to take a drink to quench his thirst. After he satisfied his thirst, he took a cupful of water and splashed it over his face and neck, strands of hair got in the way of the bombardment of water. So he decided to loosen his hair and dunk his whole head in the water, causing everyone to laugh when he came up with his hair plastered to his face and the points of his ears sticking out through the golden strands.

After blinking a few times, he grinned and splashed the unfortunate Sadron, who happened to be standing the nearest to him and clutching his stomach while trying to wipe away his tears of mirth. But his laughter stopped the moment he felt the water. He looked up to see Thranduil grinning cheekily at him.

Staring at Thranduil with a mock-glare, Sadron tackled him and managed to get him onto his back. But Thranduil was quick, he pushed his knees and feet up onto his abdomen and flipped him causing him to land hard on his own back. In no time a tussle had ensued and the two elves were rolling around all over the place, grinning and laughing the entire time.

Thranduil had gone through intense training in combat and in every form of battle, giving him the upper-hand. The younger elf had his opponent on his back and pinning him down, "Do you admit defeat?"

Sadron glared up at Thranduil for a few seconds before grinning, "Aye, seems your training is paying off."

In good sportsmanship, the younger offered his hand to the older elf and helped him to his feet. He continued to dust himself off. Only now had he noticed that all the other elves were staring at them, so he asked, "Anyone else care to challenge me," there was no hint of arrogance in his tone or stance, just playfulness, like an elfling who was ready for another round of play.

The rest shook their heads and went back to what they were doing. Thranduil looked up to see the position of the sun, when he found it to be noon, he addressed the gathered elves, "Gather the things that youneed _only_, the rest gets left behind. We should start moving out."

The elves scattered to follow the order. Thranduil was glad that everyone thought to sharpen and prepare their weapons the day before, for that gave them more time to look about and find something that was worth reporting to the king.

Җ

Veryan talked animatedly with Thranduil while trekking through the dense forest, "When my mother found out that it was me who put the frogs in my parents' bed, she grounded me for the next century."

Thranduil laughed at that, imagining the look on Veryan's mother's face when she discovered the frogs and how his father would have laughed at his son's prank, "How did you get out of your punishment?" Thranduil asked.

"Let us just say that I owe my adar, he was the one that convinced her that it was a harmless prank and no one got hurt. The punishment was shortened to two weeks – this is my first week of freedom."

Veryan was one of Thranduil's closest friend. They did everything together, including scheming and planning their pranks. In fact, Thranduil helped his friend gather the frogs.

"Ha, do you remember the time we put those worms in Master Tangadion's boots," inquired Veryan as he patted Thranduil lightly on the arm with the back of his hand.

Thranduil laughed even louder at the memory, "How could I forget? He was so mad, his whole face turned blood-red. I actually thought he was going to put an arrow through both of us."

"My whole body is still stiff from the fourty-five laps that we had to do, not to mention the size of that training-field."

Thranduil's eyes sparkled, "I would do it again to see that look on his face."

Master Tangadion was their trainer in weaponry. He was very strict, pushing his students to the limits. He believed that each one should reach their full potential, no matter what it took. He was the best and surpassed even Thranduil's skills. He had fought in many a war and carried a faint scar on his left cheek, making him look sinister and not someone you would want to cross. But Thranduil and Veryan, being the elves that they were, dared each other to pull that prank on him, causing the other students to fear for their lives and laugh at the same time. They became popular after that and were known as the kings of pranks, making the whole incident worthwhile.

Thranduil took to one of the trees to see if he could find anything that was out of the ordinary. He poked his head through the top branches and began his search. He gasped when he found a wisp of smoke coming from the North-East. He yelled down to his fellows, "I see smoke! We better go and investigate!" He leaped from the tree and landed gracefully.

Steadily, the small group of elves made their way to the forest, pushing aside any branch that blocked their path. It had grown considerably dark but Thranduil did not want to stop until they found out what the cause of the smoke was.

The closer he got the stronger the smell became. He used signs to let the others know that they were to stay behind and remain silent while he went to investigate. He carefully pulled some leaves apart and peered between them.

Stifling another gasp, he found a handful of orcs chopping down branches and throwing them into the fire. He cringed when he heard the trees' painful cry – it ripped at his heart. Growling silently, he gestured for Sadron to have a look at what he saw.

The older elf's eyes widened, he turned to Thranduil who looked back at him. They both turned to the rest of the elves who watched with curiosity. He indicated to the tree-tops –the message as clear as if he had spoken it.

Each one took to the trees and pulled their bows and arrows out and waited for Thranduil's signal. When he gave it, they took careful aim and released their arrows in split seconds. This sent the orcs into such disarray that they could not retaliate and those who tried were shot down before they could so much as pull out an arrow from their quivers.

When he was sure that each one met their demise, Thranduil climbed down a tree and walked into the clearing. He angrily ripped an arrow from one of the orcs and looked down at it with disgust, "Yrch!! What did they think they were doing in our lands?!" He glared at each one of the orcs as though he was expecting an answer from one of them l. He inspected the orc that he was standing over and examined his garb, "This one carries the symbol of Morgoth even though he is long dead." _Is it even possible to serve someone who is dead, even if he was a Maia?'_

"What should we do with the bodies," Asked Arphenion, a loyal warrior serving under the king.

"There are too many surrounding trees to burn them here and we cannot leave them for carrion, that will defile this area," Thranduil looked to Alagos, "Can you go ahead and see how far we are from the fields?"

The young elf, Alagos saluted and ran through the forest. It was not long before he returned, "They lie just beyond those trees."

Thranduil looked satisfied and heaved the nearest orc onto his shoulder, "Come, my fellow elves, we have orcs to burn," the smile on his face was a little unsettling but each took up a disgusting corpse and followed their prince.

They walked until they were a safe distance from the trees. Thranduil had not realized how late it was till he saw that ithil was past midway and heading towards the other side of the horizon. He dropped his burden without a care, "Drop them here so that they form a pile."

Just as he was about to set them alight, Thranduil remembered something. He pulled the orcs from the pile.

"Thranduil, what are you doing," Veryan asked, clearly he was perplexed as were the rest of them.

Thranduil grinned up at them before chopping off the head of the largest orc and placed the orcs back into a pile, "You shall learn soon enough," the others looked even more confused when he went towards the trees and picked up a sizeable stick. He found a seat on a nearby rock and started carving the stick to make it look like a makeshift spear.

No one said a word and all that was heard was the crickets and the whittling coming from Thranduil. Not long afterwards, Thranduil set the pile of orcs on fire and dug his spear into the ground and placed the head on the dull side of the spear, "Look, t'is a head on a stick," he grinned at his party of elves, revealing all his pearly-white teeth that gleamed under the moonlight.

He nearly gagged when the stench came with full force. He saw that the others were in the same predicament as he was, "Let us get out of here before we all pass out," He held his tunic to his nose and led the others into the forest and away from the aweful stench.

Җ

Oropher was sitting in his counsel-room, holding council with his officials, but he may as well have not attended, for all his attention was on his youngest. If he so much as made a sound, Oropher would become distracted by him and wave one of his expensive toys near his face.

Finally, Dûrion had enough, "My king, if you wish to postpone this meeting, it can easily be arranged."

Oropher was still distracted by Aranhir, "Hmm," then he looked up, still bent over the baby, who was playing on the floor, "Oh...no, that will not be necessary. You can proceed."

Arandur, the royal treasurer spoke up, "As I was saying, my lord, I feel that we should raise the taxes – bring in more money."

"Bring in more money," the king muttered to himself, "Yes, I could do with a little extra. How high do you think we should make it?"

"Your majesty, that is entirely up to you."

"10." Oropher said with finality.

Theliel leaned towards her husband and placed a hand on the arm of his chair, "Is that not a bit much," she whispered.

"Not at all, we need to raise the finances."

"What for? There are elves that would never be able to afford that much."

"Then they are no longer welcome to live here."

"That is unfair and you know it. What would you need all that extra money for? You have more than enough to live comfortably and to provide for the citizens of this realm."

Everyone present was watching the interaction between the king and queen, they had hoped that something like this did not happen; they wanted the meeting to be over as soon as possible.

"Where is the harm in bringing more gold?" Oropher inquired while looking straight ahead.

"There is harm in it. Harm for those who would never be able to afford the extra amount. As it is, they are scraping by, albeit barely."

Oropher sensed another argument coming on so he dismissed everyone and told them that he would sign the declaration as soon as he was done having a word with his wife.

They left in silence.

"Oropher, think about what you are doing," spoke Theliel once they were alone, "You are not being fair."

The baby started crying, asking for the attention that was not being given to him. Oropher swiftly picked him up and rocked him.

Theliel continued, "What if it was you in their shoes? How would you feel?"

Oropher cooed at the baby and responded, "Then it is a good thing that I am not, is it not?"

Theliel's beautiful face twisted into anger, "Have you become so heartless that you care not a wit for anyone else other than yourself and your son?!"

"**Do not speak to me thusly!!**"

"But it is the truth and you know it! I do not know what has gotten into you, but you are certainly not the elf that I married!"

"The elf that you married was weak and too emotional. He would never have thought to build up a realm as I have! He was a no body, but no longer, for you see, I am powerful, I rule with an iron fist and am respected for it!!"

"Respected, but not loved by them! I love you, Oropher and so does Thranduil, but if you are going to be like this from now on then you can forget about having my support!"

With that, she spun on the balls of her feet and left. Oropher watched, but he was not in the least bit fazed.

Җ

The troop sighed as each one slumped to the ground. Thranduil was the only one that remained standing. He focused his senses in case there were more orcs. Dawn may have been approaching but that did not mean that their enemies were not prowling around.

All of a sudden they heard a rustling coming from one of the nearby bushes and the elves froze.

Җ

TBC

God bless and ride free, citizens.


	2. Chapter 2

Treacherous Paths 3: Love and Hate

**Treacherous Paths 3: ****Love and Hate**

Disclaimer: As per usual, I do not own any recognisable characters and not making any money from this.

**Chapter 2**

Theliel had her fists clenched tightly at her sides. Her face was still twisted in anger, her eyes burning like blue fire. Oropher was most probably signing the proclamation and there was nothing that she could have done, except stand by and watch.

She had decided on taking a walk amongst the trees to soothe her rage, yet she was too lost in her consuming anger to allow herself to calm down. She knew that her words to her husband did nothing, _'is it even possible to love and dislike a person at the same time?!'_

She slipped out of her soft slippers and climbed one of the trees, cursing the dress that she had to wear. The tailor was not going to be happy with her for tearing the precious material, but she did not care in the slightest. Sighing, she leaned her back and head against the rough bark and stared at the stars between the leaves.

Her thoughts turned to her eldest son, _'Where are you, meleth? Be careful, wherever you are.'_ The fair queen allowed her eyes to close, hiding their rich, sapphire colour. Everything was so tranquil that she began to drift, but her peace was once again broken by the crying of Aranhir in the distance. Her urge to go to him had grown with each release of scream; it became so bad that she had to cling to one of the branches to stop herself. Doing so brought back her anger, _'__**That is my **_**son**_** as well, what**__**right does Oropher have to keep me away from him?! I am a mother and I have **_**every**_** right to tend to him!!**__'_

Theliel narrowed her eyes and stormed towards the palace. Seeing her expression of fury, every elf in her path quickly made way for her. She did not stop until she made it to the royal study. Not bothering to knock, she slammed open the door and strode towards the desk where Oropher was comforting the child, "OROPHER!"

The king looked up lazily and almost did a double-take when he saw just how angry his wife was, "May I help you?" He asked rather calmly.

"Oh, you have no idea," her voice held a dangerous edge and a cold tone that made Caradhras look like a sunny place.

"I am sensing that you are not happy about something," he addressed her as though she was just another official.

"Oh, I am _way_ beyond unhappy, I am _furious_. Do you have _any _idea how much I _detest _the decisions you have made?! **You treat me like a child that should submit to you and sometimes I feel more like a serf than your **_**wife!!**_** No longer will you keep me from my **_**own **_**child!"**

"So this is what all this about," Oropher still appeared to be unaffected by her outburst.

"**No!! It is how you are treating your own people, how you are treating me and how you are treating our son!!**"

"As you can see, my son is perfectly happy," as if on cue, Aranhir giggled when Oropher poked him gently in his tummy.

"I'm not talking about Aranhir and you know it. Or are you so consumed in your own selfishness that you have forgotten about Thranduil?!"

"Thranduil is of no importance to me."

Theliel was stung by the words and for once, she was grateful that her eldest was not around to hear those words, but that would only delay the inevitable of Oropher telling him to his face. "I hope you pay for what you just said," she spat.

"And I hope that you will pay for your insolence." He grabbed her wrist in a harsh grip and forced her toward himself, "you may be my wife but you are no more than a subject and will treat me as everyone else!"

She spat in his face, causing him to let go. The queen shouted her next words, "**I am the queen and I deserve respect from you as well and if the people knew you like I know you there will be a mutiny against you before you know it!**" Theliel was now glaring up at him, showing no fear for Oropher's growing fury.

Oropher struck her hard across her face and towered over her, "You will learn to keep your mouth shut before addressing me in such a manner," He picked the crying Aranhir up and marched out the door.

Theliel's frame shook with tremors and shock. The last time he laid a hand on her like that he was terribly remorseful. Now, he just saw it as a way to teach her a lesson. What lesson was that? She might have reacted badly to the strike but that would not break her spirit.

Җ

Every elf had a weapon trained on the rustling bush. Thranduil held his hand up, indicating to the others to hold their fire until they knew exactly what they were aiming at. It was clearly too small to be an orc or even a goblin. The rustling grew until a pink, sniffling nose peaked through the leaves. The prince was so startled that he nearly dropped his hand to signal the fire.

All of a sudden a white ball of fur hopped out of the bushes and made a quick escape towards safety. Thranduil let out a laugh followed by the others. Once he gathered his composure he spoke, "I think that it would be best to not mention this incident to anyone for the sake of pride."

The rest laughed while nodding their agreements. It would do no good for such brave warriors to be the brunt of laughter when others discovered that they were startled by a small rabbit. Veryan shook his head and stepped towards his leader and prince, "Do you think that we have enough information to present to the king?"

Thranduil had to think before answering, "Nay, he will not be satisfied. We are dealing with something more powerful than orcs, something sinister."

Arphenion joined in the conversation, being the eldest of the group gave him a higher responsibility than the rest, excluding Thranduil, "Your highness, what do you suppose this power could be?"

"Honestly...I am not sure, but it is causing my blood to run cold and the hairs of my neck to stand on end."

The others looked at each other grimly. For the prince to voice his feelings like that meant it was something serious and cause for concern.

Sadron spoke up, "Perhaps it is not as terrible as we think." He tried to put the others at ease, but they just looked at him with scepticism.

"Sadron, there is a fine line between optimism and denial. I know there is something out there, I can feel it. It is no good ignoring it," Said Thranduil as he knelt to the ground, looking for more clues, "Why else would the orcs and goblins travel so far from the Misty Mountains into the very depths of Greenwood where they know they will be shot down within seconds with arrows that have yet to miss their targets?"

Neither Sadron nor the rest had any response to that. Thranduil felt a little guilty for being so frank with them, but it was best that he hid nothing or they would continue to wander about without the amount of concern that they should have had and that would make him a poor leader and unfit to lead.

Alagos, who was the youngest of the group, spoke up boldly, "If what you say, my prince, is true then I say let him come and we shall show him what will happen to anyone who crosses us."

Thranduil looked up from the ground to stare into the youngster's eyes. Undoubtedly there was fire in them along with bravery, _'Poor, naïve child. Does he truly think that it is so simple?'_

Truth of the matter was that he was only a year younger than Thranduil, but for warriors, it was not age that counted but the experience.

Arphenion was the one who responded, "You still have much to learn, Alagos. I ask you this: will you feel the same way should you come face to face with such a creature or will your courage falter? I tell you now that words are so very easy to speak but the actions that follow are most difficult."

"I do not understand. Do we not call ourselves warriors, soldiers of the king? If that were true then what reason would there be to fear something, no matter how dangerous something or someone is?"

Standing and dusting his hands off, Thranduil addressed Alagos, "Fear is what makes us real. Every soldier has felt the quaking of their hearts sometime in their lives, as is natural. It is the fact that we are not allowing it to overwhelm us makes us true warriors. But to purposely look for trouble for the sake of bravery is foolishness. Yes, we call ourselves warriors and yes, we call ourselves soldiers of the king because we know when to be cautious and when to overpower our fears when dealing with an enemy that has attacked us first. To underestimate an enemy, Alagos, is just as foolish and near suicidal. Do you understand, Alagos?"

Alagos looked down. He had not thought of it that way. He looked up again into the eyes of the awe-inspiring elf, "You are right. Forgive my outburst."

Thranduil gripped his shoulder and smiled, "There is nothing to forgive. The sun has now risen above the horizon. We have wasted enough time, let us scout further."

Җ

Theliel was just getting up and straightening her dress when she heard hooves clattering on the stones of the courtyard. On her way out, she glanced at a mirror and saw the redness of her cheek and a tint of blue, _'Oh, what to do? I cannot go out looking like this, yett I cannot neglect greeting the guests.'_ She decided on putting some base on to cover up the marks.

Stepping down from the steps, she noticed that these elves were from Lothlorien and in the very centre of the surrounding elves was Celebrial.

Theliel rushed forward to greet her, "Mae govannen, Celebrial! It is so very good to see you again."

The silver elf slid off the horse gracefully and pulled the queen into an embrace, "I missed you so much. How have you been?" She looked at the elleth that had meant so much to her and have come to love her as her own mother. She noticed that she looked far paler than what was normal, "Is everything alright?"

For once, Theliel could not look into her eyes, "Everything is fine."

Celebrial tilted her head up gently and noticed the subtle sheen of tears in her eyes, "My lady?"

"It is nothing. I suppose I am just so overwhelmed at having you returned to us and Thranduil will be overjoyed in seeing you again."

At the mention of his name, Celebrial's eyes lit up even more, "Where is he? I expected him to be the first to greet me other than you, of course."

Theliel chuckled, _'Ah, young love.'_ That thought brought a tightening to her throat and fresh tears wanted to surface, but she would not allow it, "I am afraid that he went on a patrol with a group of others, but I am sure that he will be back soon enough. Just give it another day or so."

As they were walking towards the entrance of the palace, Theliel remembered the escort and turned to them, "I shall send a servant for you to show you to your sleeping quarters."

One of them stepped forward and addressed the queen, "Your majesty, your kindness offered is most generous but we could not impose on you and shall leave at once."

"You shall do no such thing. Come, I can see that you are weary and a good rest has not hurt anyone. Stay, at least for a day and you can all leave first thing tomorrow."

The four bowed their heads and followed them inside.

Җ

The team of elves did not come across anything that was of any great interest. It seemed futile to further their search but Thranduil had insisted that there was more to be found and they would not stop till they found precisely what they needed to report back to the king.

By now it was noon. Sadron was becoming impatient, "How much longer do we have to scout and patrol. What we have is already very valuable information that could prove useful. We are just wasting our time."

Thranduil frowned and glared at Sadron, "Is this how you are all feeling then?" His voice was so sugary sweet it almost sounded dangerous.

Everyone nodded except for Arphenion, who knew it was best to remain silent.

Thranduil continued, "So this is all one big waste of time? Let me tell you something, _Sadron_. I may be younger than you but that does not mean I do not know what I am doing! If you all truly wish to leave and return home with what you have then do so, as for me, I am staying here until I find something useful!"

He turned away from the others and kept his senses tuned to anything that was suspicious.

Sadron stepped closer to him, "Your highness, I did not mean to sound so disrespectful – nothing came out the way I intended to, but I do speak for everyone when I say that we are all missing our homes and loved ones, even you, prince Thranduil. I am sure that you are wondering whether lady Celebrial has returned by now."

Thranduil clinched his eyes closed at the mention of her name, giving evidence to the fact that he was missing her tremendously, "Aye, it is true, but this mission is more important than the desires of my heart; this could mean the safety of this entire realm." _'And I do not want to let my father down any more than I have to.'_ "So, I will carry on with or without any of you."

Arphenion stepped forward and said, "My prince, I have promised my allegiance to serve both this realm and the royal family and I hold to that."

Feeling guilty for not sticking by his best friend, Veryan, too, spoke up, "I should never have thought of going against your wishes. I will stick by you until we find what you are truly looking for."

One by one the rest of the elves promised to stand by their prince, no matter what.

Җ

Celebrial felt like turning back and running away when she found herself in front of the enormous doors and the guards standing before her. Said doors lead into the dreaded throne-room where the king was most likely to be. She could hear the faint sound of wailing coming from the inside and wondered if that was the new addition to the royal family, _'Is it not the queen who is supposed to be taking care of him?'_ She would not dwell on the thought.

Taking a deep breath, she waited for one of the guards to announce her presence before walking inside.

Earlier the queen had told her that it was best to tell Oropher of her presence and that her escort would be staying for a day.

Her heart hammered more wildly when she saw the king sitting on his throne holding the baby. It might have looked strange enough to ease her discomfort but the look on his face halted any ease that would come to her. She swallowed and bowed.

Oropher pierced her with his gaze before giving her the command to rise.

She did so and spoke, "Your majesty, I have returned from the Golden Wood, having learnt most of what I needed to. I hope that you will accept my return and allow me to court your son, the prince."

Oropher did not say anything and his stern face showed no emotion. This caused the anxiety that Celebrial was feeling to increase. She could feel the palms of her hands begin to sweat and tremble ever so slightly.

At last the king spoke up, "Thranduil's business is no longer my own. If you wish to court him then do so, marry him for all I care. I have washed my hands of him...he asked for it. Now, leave."

Shock did not come close to describing what Celebrial felt at that moment. Did she hear correctly? Did the king just disown his son before her? Something was not right and she felt that she was to blame for the wide rift between father and son.

She did not realize that she got so caught up in her thoughts that she forgot where she was. It was Oropher's voice that pulled her out of her trance.

"Did I not just tell you to leave?!"

"Oh, forgive me, sire." She quickly scurried out of the room, looking far more pale than what she did going in.

Җ

By now the sun was setting and nothing had been found as of yet. Thranduil was just about to suggest that they make their way to the horses when they heard ominous screeching behind them. Behind the trees and shrubbery they could each detect the faint glow of the orcs' and goblins' eyes and there seemed to be many of them.

Veryan was inching towards Thranduil and asked in a whisper, "Do you think they spotted us?"

Thranduil just looked at them; seeming to search for a sign that they did, indeed, find them. As he took a step back one of the goblins looked directly at him and let out and ear-splitting screech. The prince winced as did the others and looked to his good friend, "Does that answer your question?"

Instinctively, the prince drew an arrow and notched it to his bow. He took careful aim and let the arrow fly. It struck true as it hit the goblin that blew their cover between the eyes. Thranduil did not have time to savour the small victory as their enemy retaliated.

Soon there were arrows flying in every direction and some of the elves were engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

It certainly was not looking good for the elves – the odds were not in their favour. Thranduil whipped out his sword and joined in the combat. He easily dispatched every orc and goblin that was standing in his path, but even he was beginning to feel overwhelmed by the mass of orcs and goblins that just kept filing through.

"Arphenion! Arphenion!" shouted Thranduil as he tried to search for the elf without becoming distracted.

"I am here, my lord!"

The younger elf felt some relief at hearing that voice and shouted in elvish so that the enemy would not understand, "We need to somehow get reinforcements!"

"How, my prince?!"

As Thranduil was thinking, he came face to face with a sneering grin. This one proved to be a tougher challenge and was larger than the others, '_Must be their leader._' He repelled every attack that came from the orc. During the fight a thought came to him, "Alagos!" He shouted. He waited anxiously for a response. Getting fed up with being on the defence, Thranduil gave his own barrage of attacks.

"Yes, highness!"

"Alagos, I need you to return to the palace with all speed and get reinforcements!" Thranduil shouted the command through clenched teeth, the orc was fighting back full force.

"But, my lord –"

"**No buts**!! Do as I say or there is no hope for us! The rest of us will hold them back for as long as we can! Now go, with all haste!"

Alagos sped through the throng and dashed towards the horses. He hated having to run from a fight but he knew that it was the only chance they had and he was not going to spoil it.

Thranduil and his troops could feel that their spirits were sinking. Without help they had no chance of winning this fight. As it was, most of them had sustained an injury or two and it was not looking good.

The prince was battling valiantly against the one persistent orc. It seemed to predict every move that he made and did not slow down in the least.

Sadron was nearby, slashing and fighting with great determination. He would fight to the end and still not stop until each one of the orcs and goblins were lying dead in their own blood and foulness. Dodging and feinting before killing, he managed to make it to the trees and start climbing. They needed an archer and he was going to fill that role in this fight.

Veryan was managing to hold his own. He was not particularly strong, but he was quick and fierce when needed to be. He wanted to make it to Thranduil's side but it seemed impossible. He tried to look out for golden hair but there just seemed to be masses and masses of black everywhere. Not giving up, Veryan fought even harder than before, not giving any goblin or orc a chance.

Thranduil had grown beyond frustrated. He was wracking his brain for an idea that he could use against the orc. Finally an idea came to him and he made a quick prayer that it would work. He dropped to his left knee, used his hands for balance and swung his right leg along the ground in an arc to trip the orc. He used all his strength and to his delight the massive orc toppled over with a growl. He wasted no time and plunged his sword through the black heart.

He allowed a grin of victory but it was short-lived – the battle still raged. Thranduil sighed and fought his next opponent. He might have kept fighting but that did not stop his hope from decreasing for he did not think that Alagos would make it in time.

Җ

Alagos sighed with relief when he saw the palace growing larger. Galloping into the courtyard, he jumped off his horse without slowing down and dashed for the wide gates.

Inside he sprinted for the throne-room and burst through the doors, startling the occupants inside.

"My lord," he rasped, "I have come with a dire need for reinforcements."

"What is this intrusion!?" demanded the king.

Alagos knelt then spoke, "My king, the patrol that you sent out a few days ago are now under attack. We are vastly out-numbered and that is why I was sent here for help."

Theliel, who was listening, took the boy by the shoulders, "Tell us everything."

The young elf was beginning to tremble under the scrutiny of the royals. He felt his mouth go dry and swallowed. He managed to focus his eyes on the queen and spoke to her, telling of the events from his point of view.

The queen listened with growing concern. She turned back to face her husband before looking back to Alagos, her ears were not believing what they were hearing. Even Oropher was astounded by the fact that the enemy would dare venture so deep into the forest without a second thought.

He felt a small twinge of concern for his son, but he quickly smothered it; using some excuse to go to his and his party's aid, "So be it. We shall send out help at once and you shall get some rest."

Alagos was about to protest, but seeing the look coming from his king, he quickly changed his mind and followed a servant out. He could now rest knowing that he completed his task on getting help.

Җ

Thranduil was beginning to feel the hopelessness of the situation. There were just too many orcs and goblins to fight, he wondered if any of them were going to make it out alive. As it was, everyone of them now had an injury and were weakening there from. And it did not help that, as they grew weaker, their enemies seemed to have grown stronger and had maintained momentum. This was definitely not looking good.

He plunged his sword into one of the orcs, causing black blood to splatter all over him. As though in a daze, he ignored the foul liquid and turned to fight another goblin.

The others were fighting in a similar fashion. What little hope they had sputtered and died. The reason why they kept fighting was because elves were hardy folk and even though a situation looked beyond salvaging they still kept on, right until they drew their last breath.

One of the orcs managed to cut fairly deeply into Thranduil's right arm, causing him to drop his sword. He cried out more from shock than from pain, for he was feeling numb. Clutching his arm, he fell to his knees. Bowing his head caused his hair flowing over his shoulders to cover his face.

One of the orcs stood over and took the opportunity to deliver the final blow. With a howl of victory, he raised his scimitar.

Җ

TBC

Final A/N: I would like opinions on what you think of my oc characters. And please don't forget to review.

God bless and ride free, citizens.


	3. Chapter 3

TREACHEROUS PATHS 3: **Love and Hate**

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

**Chapter 3**

Celebrial leaned heavily against the banister, her small hands turning white from her tight grip. She had locked the door and stayed there since her brief talk with the king. Warm droplets of tears rolled down her cheeks and down her throat.

'_Thranduil's business is no longer my own._'

Celebrial gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut when the harshly spoken words were recalled.

'_I have washed my hands of him..._'

How could any father say such a thing about their own child? The same two phrases ran over and over again through her mind, seeming to become louder each time, echoing all around the bed chamber.

Celebrial began thinking back to that morning when she first arrived. She looked back to the moment when she noticed the pallor of the queen and she had begun to understand what might have happened. It was clear now that Theliel had another argument with Oropher and this was the worst one yet until the next one.

Celebrial prayed fervently to the Valar that there would be no more fights and bitter arguments, yet she already knew that the royal family was growing apart more each day and she began to feel that it was all her fault and needed to do something before things became irreparable.

Җ

Thranduil heard a grunt and the body of the orc bowled him over trapping him underneath the heavy weight of the orc. He opened his eyes to find an arrow with a foreign fletching sticking out of the back of the now dead orc.

With a mixture of relief and disgust Thranduil pushed the orc off and stood up on unsteady legs. He gripped his upper arm with a slight grimace while looking around at the reinforcements that rushed through the trees.

The prince felt another wave of relief wash over him. None of the elves that were with him died and now their hope was renewed. He took a little closer look at the elves that were garbed in colours that were not custom in Greenwood. His heart leapt when he recognized them to be from the golden realm of Lothlorien, for that meant that his beloved Celebrial had finally returned!

Gathering his senses he picked up his sword that still lay on the ground. He helped in finishing off the rest of the orcs and goblins.

Once that was done, Thranduil inspected his fellow elves and decided that they would have no other choice but to return home to have all their injuries seen to.

He approached one of the Lothlorien elves, one he recognized.

"Mae govannen, Haldir," he greeted with a smile.

Haldir spun around and gripped one of Thranduil's arms, "Nae saier luume."

"Far too long; I must say that your timing could not have been any more perfect," Thranduil laughed breathlessly as he subconsciously rubbed the back of his neck where the scimitar would have landed had the arrow flown a second later.

Haldir laughed too as his gripped his friend's shoulder, "And that surprises you?" The Lorien warrior asked with mock arrogance.

The Greenwood merely shook his golden head with a smile, "Come, mellon nin. We best be getting back."

The king needed to know more of what happened.

Җ

Oropher held his chalice in a grip so tight that his fingers turned white and took a long swig of the seasoned wine. His thoughts continued to conflict with each other. Another attack on his forest! According to Alagos it was not a particularly large group but reinforcements had come and tipped the scale to their advantage.

He swore while he poured himself more wine. How in Arda could these blast orcs trample all the way from the Misty Mountains to his great forest without a care and still remain undetected for a period of time?! Since Thranduil was in charge of the guarding and protecting of the realm it was his fault that orcs and goblins were rampaging freely! Oropher's eyes narrowed further and his teeth gritted in a grimace of anger. Taking a deep breath Oropher stilled his rage and sat down.

He just sat and mulled over thoughts that often overtook his musings. Actually they were memories rather than random thoughts and the alcohol brought them on more strongly. Oropher put his hand in his pocket to finger a small object before pulling it out. It was a small key used to lock and unlock his drawers.

He slowly opened the top one and pulled a picture out; a picture that was clearly drawn and coloured by a talented artist. Bluish-gray orbs pierced the picture with a wistful gaze.

The king began to tremble more the longer he stared at the picture. His memories soon began to take over more than they previously had.

It was a painting of three joyful-looking elves that did not seem to have a care in the world. Two of them were adults that held each other close. Both were attractive; the ellen's facial features were well-sculpted and chiselled as though carved from marble, yet softened by his beaming smile, his eyes sparkled like mithril under a smooth brow, raven locks fell smoothly over broad shoulders.

The female elf had eyes that stars could envy with the sparkle in their greyish-blued depths. Her beauty was flawless and indescribable. Her slightly rounded cheeks glowed with happiness and their tint of pink brought out her innocence. Silvery gold hair was tied up in a messy bun leaving the strands to frame her beautiful face. She had soft lips that looked like they were painted with the reddest of roses. She may have been short for an elf but that certainly did not make her any less stunning.

Standing between them was a tiny elfling clutching at the lady's skirt while grinning back at the artist painting them. Such innocence shone in his large eyes that clearly resembled the elleth's along with her sun-kissed locks.

Something splashed onto the picture fortunately missing the three elves and smudging the well-drawn grass that they were standing.

Oropher dropped the picture onto his desk and leaned heavily against his desk heavily against it. His whole frame shook with grief and violent sobs. The king pushed himself away from the desk and swaggered to the wall on the opposite side and slid down till he was sitting with his head resting on bent knees and fists clenched on the floor, "Cormamin niuve, tenna' ta elea lle au'," he muttered to himself with a broken-sounding sob.

A scent of a long-distant smell wafted all about him and most unusually he felt strong arms wrapped around his waist; dark, silky hair hanging over his shoulder and tickled his cheek gently. Curiosity made him look up and around only to see a beloved face smiling back at him. Oropher swallowed back a lump that sat in his throat and blinked away the rising moisture in his eyes. The strong arms brought him closer to a broad chest where he felt safe.

Suddenly he heard soft humming in the background. Oh, he knew that voice anywhere even if he had not heard it for many a year.

It came from the chamber right next door. Oropher, who was back to being an elfling, felt his heart hammering when the humming grew louder and in twirled a beautiful elleth who resembled the one in the picture that he was looking at a minute ago. She gracefully walked over and kissed the both the elleth and elfling on the cheek. Another scent immediately took over his senses. The smell of flowers mixed with the previous wood-smoke and pine scent brought another painful lump to his throat.

"Dinner is almost ready," said the lady in a melodious voice as she knelt to the level of the chair they were sitting in. She wrapped one arm around the other adult elf and tenderly ran a hand down Oropher's own head and combing his soft hair with gentle fingers.

That did it, Oropher could no longer hold back his tears and buried his face into the strong chest. In that single moment he was in bliss and filled with contentment, "Ada, nana," he whispered.

From there the scene changed drastically; vicious howls resounded from every corner. Oropher was shaken by the sudden change and he was no longer sitting on his father's lap, but instead he was sitting in the darkness of his old bed chamber. He knew this moment only too well. Frightened to the very core, his blood froze at the sounds of a scream, shout and blood-curdling growls. Then the worst sound of all came...silence.

Җ

Queen Theliel was wandering the halls forlornly and aimlessly – deep in thought. She did not know how or why but it was as though her feet were leading her.

Hearing her husband in distress Theliel quickened her steps and knocked tentatively on the king's study door. All she heard was a sob. She slowly opened the thick, oaken door. She scanned the room with her keen elven eyes with concern.

The elven queen followed the sound of another sob and saw Oropher sitting against with his head buried in his raised knees.

"Oropher!" Theliel sounded panicked and rushed to kneel in front of the king.

"Oropher, mani marte?"

Oropher did not respond to her inquiry, only whispering, "Ada, nana."

Theliel understood that Oropher had been living in the past again and did not escape the vivid images. She tenderly ran a hand over his head and combed her nimble fingers through silvery-gold locks.

"Aiya, Meleth! Tula, hama neva i'naur," she helped him and led him to the double seat in front of the fire-place.

Oropher did not appear to be aware of his surroundings or that Theliel was sitting concernedly beside him. All he did was blankly stare at his clenched hands that were resting on his knees.

Theliel placed a small hand over her husband's, "Oropher, look at me," she pleaded earnestly. When he did not obey she lifted his head with fingers under his chin and used her other hand to turn his face towards her.

She smiled sadly as she wiped away her husband's tears. Oropher blinked once and that seemed to break the trance he was in. He blinked again, this time to clear away the mists caused by his sorrow.

Once his eyes were cleared he saw the beautiful face of his beloved wife. He reached out slowly to touch the still swollen area of her cheek. Fresh tears ran anew but he allowed them to.

Teliel leaned into his touch and closed her eyes. She placed her hand over his and tears of her own flowed. The lady opened her eyes again to stare into Oropher's.

"Your past has been difficult for you," she said after a while, "but life goes on and we need to go on with it lest we get left behind. You will never be able to fully live if you remain in the past."

The king turned his head to look into the burning flames. He began mulling over her words of wisdom. He knew that what she said was true, yet he could not understand why he could not let go of the years before. He desperately desired to move forward and allow his grief to fade, but the pain was like a raw infection that needed serious treatment.

Silence took over, all that could be heard was the crackling of the fire. It was not a tense silence, just merely a quietness that needed to be there for the sake of thought.

Oropher glanced up to the portrait of himself above the mantelpiece of the fire-place. It was an exquisite piece – an oil-painting done by talented hands. It was painted on the day of his coronation. The newly-placed crown had already started weighing heavily upon his brow, even the mantle he wore was heavy on his shoulders and it was not just because it was made from thick, forest-green velvet. No, he began to feel the enormous responsibility appointed to him by the elders of Greenwood the Great.

How many years had he been bearing this heavy burden of kingship?

The counsellors kept track in order to keep up with the anniversaries and milestones of his reign. He could not be bothered with such things and it might have made his time as king seem longer.

No doubt that he was honoured for having been chosen, yet all he could see was the endless decision-making that possibly changed lives forever.

Oropher shook his head, remembering the most recent decision he made. He felt strong enough on the paths he chose to walk down, but for the first time in a long time he was not certain of the choice he made about the taxes. The proclamation had not been completed as of yet, giving him more time to ponder on it. That was if he was not hounded by his advisors to make the final decision instantly.

The king came to an end of his current thoughts. He glanced a little further upwards towards his own eyes. He noticed that not much had changed between then and the current , yet at the same a lot had changed. Although they were the same eyes they did not carry the steeliness they did now or held the same sparkle of wisdom. The elvenking looked for other detail that he did not notice before and saw hardness in the depths that should not have been there or have grown even harder.

It was the effects of his newly appointed task and of what happened not long before moving to Greenwood – in terms of elves. Oropher could still smell the burning of the raging fires that destroyed both Doriath and Menegroth. Once again he cursed the dwarves and descendants of Fëanor. All brought on by some jewels that were not worth the lives of so many innocents, of which he could still remember the screams. Thingol gave up his own life for one of them.

Would he have done the same for one of the Silmarils? No, for it would only result in more unnecessary deaths not to mention his own death; ending up gaining nothing in the end.

The precious jewels were lost now, except for one that found its way onto the brow of Eärendil.

Oropher remembered how he snuck his wife and son through one of the hidden passages that led a few good miles away from Doriath. The stars were veiled that night so they used that to their advantage.

A very young Thranduil, who had just started his training in the arts of battle, protested at not being allowed to fight. Oropher knew he was improving all the time but he still lacked the much needed skill and experience. He managed to quieten his son's unhappiness by telling him that someone had to protect his mother in case there were wandering, unfriendly dwarves.

It was a sad farewell for none of them knew if they would ever see each other again. Oropher only hoped that his two loved ones would reach the safe haven reserved for those who could not fight or defend themselves without any events.

The king shook his head again to break his reverie. He did not want to dwell in those dark days.

Theliel said naught when she sensed her husband's growing distress. She could tell that he was recalling times of difficulty. All she did was take his hand between both of hers and started rubbing his icy fingers to warm them up and also for comfort.

They continued this way till they heard the approach of elves in the courtyard.

Җ

Celebrial finally made up her mind. She knew what she needed to do if she was going to keep the royal family together. It was not an easy choice, telling by the tears that flowed even quicker, but she loved Thranduil and was willing to do something that would break her heart.

She packed the last item into her satchel and checked her weapons. After staring for a long time at her open bag she quickly pulled the string to close it.

Her eyes widened when she heard the commotion below her. This was not part of her plan; she now had to act quickly.

Looking around the room with deep sadness and regret she leapt from the open window and into the nearest tree. From there she continued on her way, leaping from branch to branch with agility and grace towards her old home.

The wilderness.

Җ

**Translations:**

Mae govannen: Well met

Mellon nin: My friend

Cormamin niuve tenna' tae lea lle au: My heart shall weep until it sees thee again.

Ellen: Male elf

Elleth: Female elf

Ada: Dad or daddy

Nana: Mom or mommy

Mani marte: What happened

Tula, hama neva i'naur: Come, sit near the fire

A/N: I offer a thousand apologies for taking this long to update. This year has not been easy not to mention I'm now a first year student and there has been a few dramas, but that did not stop me from writing when I could. This time I hope it won't take as long lol.

A/N 2: Sorry there was not a lot of Thranduil in this chapter but I thought I should focus a little on Oropher. He's become a pretty complex character, which is what I was aiming for. I don't want my characters to end up two dimensional and predictable, so I hope I achieved that in this chapter.

A/N 3: Please feel free to correct me if you see any mistakes. I appreciate any helpful criticism. Ideas are also very much welcome. By the way, thank you so much to those who reviewed in the last chapter, here is a miniature Oropher for all of you. You can love him or hate him just don't give him any wine cause that seems to make him go crazy and see things :p.

Till next time

God bless and ride free, citizens.


	4. Chapter 4

TREACHEROUS PATHS 3: **Love and Hate**

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

**Chapter 4**

Beneath the setting sun a group of elves were just dismounting. The king and queen were there to greet the patrol.

Queen Theliel saw at once that the party that just arrived carried some injury or other, except for the Lorien elves. Theliel summoned a servant over and asked him to inform the healers of the situation and to tell them to ready the infirmary.

Once the servant left, Theliel went over to the one she had been anxious to see. She spotted Thranduil leading his horse to the stables and rushed towards him.

"Cormamin lindua ele lle," she said with great relief as she hugged him.

Thranduil could not help but smile and readily returned the embrace, "I missed you, naneth." He winced slightly when her arm brushed his injury.

When she heard the soft intake of breath Theliel quickly but gently pushed the prince away till they were an arm's length apart.

Thranduil looked slightly exasperated when his mother started inspecting the cut on his arm with a concerned eye, "It is nothing, naneth. No more than a scratch."

"I will be the judge of that elfling." There was just silence whilst Theliel twisted the arm this way and that way. After that she reached up to kiss him on the cheek, "I am glad that you are well but you best let the healers take care of that cut before infection sets in – it may need stitching as well."

Thranduil was not about to admit it but his arm was starting to feel numb. He strolled towards the entrance of the palace right where Oropher stood.

Hand on heart, he knelt before the king on one knee and rose to look up at his father in the eye and spoke, "Shall you hear the reports now or after I have seen the healer," Thranduil tried to keep his tone even but he could not help the touch of sarcasm.

Oropher's stern façade did not change in the least, "Go see the healers first and refresh yourself. Once you are well-rested you can come and see me."

The younger elf tried not to look shocked and attempted to hide it by bowing his head. He stepped past the king before realizing something. He looked back at his parents with a look of questioning, "Where is Celebrial?"

Ж

Oak and beech trees flew past at a great speed along with the movement of a petite yet strong elleth. She was back to being dressed in leathers and furs. Strapped to her back was her trusty bow and arrows.

Despite her vision being hazy, Celebrial moved effortlessly from tree to tree and with the agility of her kind. She made certain to leave as few signs to follow as possible so as to make it difficult to follow, knowing that Thranduil was a skilled tracker and would certainly come after her.

The elf halted her movements when her emotions threatened to overwhelm her. Celebrial could not afford to let her feelings stop her for too long. There would be time later to wallow in the world of despair but not before she made her escape and found a proper hiding place.

Once again she started her trek towards the forest's borders and beyond.

Ж

"The last time I saw her she went to go speak with your father in the throne-room." Theliel said before facing Oropher, "I have not seen her since."

Both wife and son stared at the king, expecting him to know the whereabouts of Celebrial.

Oropher looked at the two of them with a frown and spoke, "How am I supposed to know where she is? The last I saw of her was when she left my presence."

Thranduil turned and sprinted towards his beloved's bed-chamber, "Celebrial, are you in here?" He knocked a couple of times while calling her.

After waiting for a response and getting none, he turned the handle of the door only to find it unlocked. He opened the door only slightly to peek inside, "meleth?"

Emptiness was all he found. Shoving the door further open, Thranduil searched all around but he found all her old possessions gone. All that remained were the gowns that were made especially for her.

He lifted the soft material of one and smelt the perfume that still clung to it. It was the same dress Celebrial wore a couple of years ago for the Winter Solstice.

Something glinted off her pillow and caught the corner of Thranduil's eye. He turned to see the moon reflecting off something. He found it to be the mithril encrusted diamond necklace he gave her. He gripped the pendant in his hand and marched out the room.

Ж

Oropher was sitting behind his desk reading a parchment when he heard a knock at the door, "Enter, Thranduil."

Thranduil practically stormed over to the king, slammed his hand onto the surface of the desk and leaned over Oropher, who was still seated, "What did you say to her when she came to see you?" He asked in a low voice.

"What I told her is of no concern of yours." Oropher responded evenly.

"Everything that concerns Celebrial concerns me!" The younger elf was slowly losing his temper, which for him was very rare, "I know you must have said something and I want to know what!"

"I have no time for this," the king said rather disdainfully and he continued reading the scroll, now completely ignoring Thranduil.

Something in Thranduil snapped. Perhaps it was the stressful patrol he was just on or his worry over Celebrial or both but he had enough. The prince bodily hoisted his father out of his chair with a strong grip on the front of his robes, "I swear if you hurt her in any shape or form..." his tone was even more dangerous than before as he left the statement hanging.

Oropher did not even so much as flinch and removed Thranduil's fist with the tips of his forefinger and thumb, "I suggest you back down before you find yourself in any more trouble than you already are." He kept his tone calm and even.

The prince took a step back with sigh and lowered his head, "My apologies, my king, it will not happen again." Thranduil allowed his temper to cool and realized that the king was not going to relent, "May I be dismissed?"

"Very well, but you are to remain in your chamber until I decide your punishment, but..." he started when Thranduil was about to protest, "But only after you find her."

Thranduil's face lit up, "Hannon le, hir nin." He ran through the palace without slowing at every turn and step, making it to the stables in no time.

While patting Barasath Thranduil found that he was grateful that he did not remove his weapons which saved alot of time.

Once again Thranduil found himself on the path again. He was hoping to find Celebrial before he reached the borders. He urged Barasath into a gallop.

After a short bout of speed Thranduil commanded his steed to slow to a walk; allowing him to concentrate on the surrounding forest. He could hear the whispers of the trees. Thranduil dismounted to approach one of the trees, placing the palm of his hand on the bark he spoke to the tree with thought, '_Vedui, yoaraer_.'

'_Hail, prince among elves_,' responded the old oak tree, '_What brings you so far hither_?'

Thranduil sighed, '_I am sorry for disturbing your rest but this matter is of great emergency...for me at least_.'

The tree's leaves rustled before the tree spoke again, '_You are seeking a flighty elf_.' It was not a question, rather a statement.

'_Aye, has she passed this way_?'

'_Yes, but with great speed. If you wish to find her you ought to leave now. I hope you get to her before danger does_.'

'_Hannon le, Hodoer. Vanya sulie.'_

'_Lissenen ar' mask'lalaith tenna_' _lye omentuura_.'

Thranduil lightly mounted back onto his horse with a slightly lighter weight on his shoulders. He pondered the tree's words and wondered what the oak meant about him finding Celebrial. He did not like the words and that caused him to encourage Barasath to run faster than before.

Wind whipped through his hair that appeared like a golden banner. The stars had long disappeared and dawn was approaching but he was not about to stop. It was fortunate that the endurance of Barasath was great and could gallop for long distances.

It would take more or less a day and a half before they would make it to the edge of Greenwood. Thranduil wanted to get there sooner but he doubted even Barasath could make it in shorter time. As it was, a day and a half was quite an accomplishment.

Hours passed but Thranduil did not slow his horse one bit. It was only when the sun reached its zenith did he allow Barasath so slow down to a walk. This allowed him more time to think. He wondered when his life became so complicated. It seemed his life became like this since the day he was born, but then again that could have been a slight exaggeration.

Thranduil turned his thoughts to more important issues. He had a small idea of how to find Celebrial, yet there was no guarantee that it would work but it was worth a try. He knew that Celebrial was not going to make it easy to find her. He may have found a way to find her in little time.

Ж

The day was drawing to a close and a new one was beginning. At last Celebrial found herself exiting the forest and the roof of trees. The warmth of the dawning sun warmed her face. She paused to allow herself a breath of air and take in the openness of the fields.

The elleth did not stop for too long, she needed to distance herself from Greenwood. She could feel a tingling at the back of her mind; she knew that Thranduil was trailing just behind and would soon catch up to her.

What Celebrial also felt was danger nearby. She cursed and stalked through the long grass to hide away from the threat and still remain unseen by Thranduil.

It was slow going and frustrating. Hidden by the grass was a large cave. Celebrial was too focused on keeping herself out of sight that she did not notice the glowing eyes that peered at her from the darkness of the cave.

Before she knew what was happening, Celebrial found herself surrounded by orcs.

Ж

Thranduil had just sent a hawk to search for a good friend of his that could aid him. He hoped that the hawk could reach said friend in time.

Celebrial could be anywhere and Thranduil wanted to find her as soon as possible.

While he sat on Barasath he wondered what caused Celebrial to flee like she did. He could only think that it had something to do with Oropher. He knew that no one else could have been the cause, but then again, there was that maiden his father tried to get him to marry, yet he had not seen her for a year or so, it was like she disappeared into thin air. He was slightly concerned that her father still stuck around. No, Thranduil knew that those two had nothing to do with Celebrial's sudden flight.

In the far distance Thranduil could see the hawk returning He released a breath of relief when he saw his friend approaching as well.

The prince rode towards them at a full gallop. He was anxious to meet him. They had not seen each other in a long time and he wanted news, "Gwaihir, lord of the eagles, you are indeed a sight for sore eyes!" Thranduil shouted so that the great eagle could hear.

Gwaihir circled around high above and soon he was low enough to make a dive and make his landing. Thranduil shielded himself from the wind caused by the enormous wings and his could hear Barasath snort with discomfort, "Hail, prince." Gwaihir rumbled the moment his talons touched the ground and was beak to face with Thranduil, "What brings you so far from the great wood of green?"

Thranduil knelt and he responded once he arose again, "A few things, mellon nin," Gwaihir could hear the weariness in his voice, "I was hoping you might be able to help."

"Depends on what help you seek."

Thranduil's face grew even more solemn, "I am looking for my beloved. Hair more silver than mithril or the stars above she has."

Gwaihir nodded his great head once, "A star I thought had fallen. '_But why so far from the sky and when the other stars were vanishing_,' I wondered to myself. I saw her running as though on air."

"Do you know where she went?"

The lord of eagles looked sadded, "I am afraid that she was overwhelmed by a black horde. Orcs I wager!"

Thranduil turned pale in an instant, "Is she..." he could not get his mouth around the word.

"Dead? I could not be certain. I pray that her light has not been diminished."

The prince suddenly felt sick. He knew how ruthless orcs could be especially to elves. He could not stand the idea of his precious Celebrial in their evil clutches.

"There is still hope, youngling, and I am willing to aid you in find and rescuing her."

Thranduil swallowed the lump in his throat, "I cannot express my thanks enough."

"I am only too glad to help a creature of light and a good friend."

Thranduil had to swallow again before climbing off Barasath and onto the back of Gwaihir.

After the great eagle made sure that Thranduil was secure on his back he took off in flight.

There was nothing like flying above the clouds. It was beyond exhilarating.

They soared over the majestic mountains and circled back to the area where Gwaihir first saw Celebrial being abducted.

"It looks to be a cave over there," Gwaihir said while turning his head in the general direction, "I would not be surprised if they were hiding in there until nightfall." He dived low enough to hear the guttural voices.

Thranduil leaned over to see if he could catch a glimpse of Celebrial, "I hear them. They must be the ones you saw."

"For certain, but there is not much that we can do now. We will have to wait for the sun to go to sleep before we take any action. No doubt they are a travelling lot."

Thranduil scowled at the thought of them heading towards his home, "Is there a place where we can wait? There is something I would like to discuss with you."

"Yes, we are heading towards my eyrie."

The rest of the flight was spent in just silence. Thranduil savoured the feel of flying. The landscape was a wonder to behold. In later days he would find it most difficult to share the experience through mere word of mouth. He even raised his arms like wings and lifted his face to the sun.

Gwaihir looked back and something of a smile lit his beady eyes, '_Oh! Two-legged creatures_,' he thought to himself. He found them to be most amusing, but he enjoyed their company as long as they were not orcs or any of the sort.

Large outcroppings began to appear and eagles were seen all about. The elf sighed – the trip being too short for his liking, but he was not too bothered by that. He was only too glad that Gwaihir offered his assistance.

The great eagle lord swooped down and made a graceful landing. Thranduil slid off his back and looked around in awe. It almost reminded him of a high-up castle, just with gigantic nests.

"Make yourself comfortable, young prince. I suggest you have your right wing looked at." Gwaihir said.

Thranduil looked puzzled, wondering what Gwaihir was getting at, "My right..." he looked down at his right arm and remembered his cut and that he had yet to see a healer. His concern for Celebrial caused his injury to slip out of his mind. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off the sting returned and blood was soaking his sleeve, "I will have it seen to once we are both home," he tore the hem of his undershirt and used it to staunch the flow.

Both made themselves comfortable and Thranduil began to speak, "We have been getting random yet well-organized attacks. Orcs and goblins have been coming in groups. I do not know how they manage to enter so far into our forest home without us knowing. I have just been on a patrol when my group and I came across a band of them; we were attacked by them before a second group joined. All of us would have been killed if not for our own reinforcements. Someone intelligent is behind these invasions. I am almost certain of it."

During Thranduil's monologue some of the other eagles joined them. They were interested in what was being discussed.

The elf continued, "I have been perplexed by all this. I was hoping that you would know more."

Gwaihir was deep in thought and silent for a bit before answering, "I have been watching their comings and goings since I first spotted them entering Greenwood the Great. I agree with your assumption that there is more to these attacks I fear. I have not yet learnt of their purpose, but I know for sure that they are not entering your home idly, knowing the danger your folk pose to them."

"I can see that you know more, Gwaihir."

Gwaihir's face looked stern and his keen eyes darkened, "It is just a theory I am afraid, but not something I would readily dismiss. You have heard of the Maiar that worked under Morgoth, no?"

"Aye, he took over from Morgoth after the Valar imprisoned him. Sauron the Deceiver he is now called. Do you think he himself is behind the attacks?"

"Either him or someone working for him; perhaps even one of the Nazgul."

Such talk seemed to darken the sun and the light all around dimmed.

Gwaihir looked grim while speaking again, "Mayhap they are spying out your forest and destroying whatever they get their black hands on is just an added bonus."

Thranduil's eyes widened, "Spying?! Why would Sauron be spying on Greenwood? Unless..."

"Unless Sauron is looking for another establishment and he is eying Greenwood, considering that Greenwood the Great is the largest and greatest realm in Elvendom – a good place to wipe out the elves living there, and in doing so, weaken the power of the elves."

"Not to mention that we do not own one of the rings of power, leaving us vulnerable and an easy target."

"That is only half true. You must remember there is a reason for everything and I know that there is a reason why your father did not receive a ring of power. I believe that you and your people have enough strength to protect your home and yourselves without some trinket."

Thranduil was not sure if he was entirely convinced, but he did not comment on his doubts, "Thank you, lord eagle, you helped me get to the possible root of our problems. Now all that is left to do is make sure that Sauron does not get his corrupted hands on our realm."

From there the conversation turned to more pleasant topics. They caught up further until the sun lowered in the sky. After another sharing of words twighlight approached.

Gwaihir lowered himself to once again allow Thranduil to climb on his back. In no time they took off and were soaring through the night air.

Thranduil's breath was taken away when he found himself flying amongst the pastel colours left by the fading light; it was almost like he could touch the colours.

They circled around a few times till the sky darkened and the stars brightened. The stars appeared so close to Thranduil that it seemed he could hold one in the palm of his hand like a precious white jewel.

As soon as the eagle spotted the orcs heading towards the Misty Mountains he let out a piercing cry and swooped down towards them.

The orcs flew into a panic and left their prisoner behind while they ran around in a frenzy. Gwaihir used the opportunity to swoop over them and attack with his beak and talons.

After Gwaihir made sure that each orc was killed he landed beside Celebrial. Thranduil leapt off his back and knelt beside her unconscious form.

"Celebrial, beloved, awaken," Thranduil gently shook her shoulder while checking for injuries, "nothing serious. Just a small concussion and a bruised cheek," he said softly to himself.

"It is good we got to her before they started their sport on her. Look she is waking."

"Where...where am I and why does is feel like every dwarf there every was and will be is mining through my head," Celebrial asked as she tried to sit up. The minute her head left the ground black spots danced before her eyes and the world spun around her – nearly causing her to pass out again.

"Easy, easy, sweetheart. You had it a little rough." Thranduil smiled down at her and gently lifted her up in his arms and carried her to Gwaihir, "I am so glad you are all right."

Gwaihir lowered himself as much as possible to make it easier for the couple to climb on top of him.

In little time they were flying amongst the stars. Celebrial was still in Thranduil's arms with her head resting on his shoulder, with his fingers constantly combing through her hair.

There was a period of silence until Thranduil broke it with a question, "Why did you run away, meleth nin?"

Celebrial breathed out softly before answering, "I did not want your family to fall apart." Her voice drifted away and she lost consciousness once again.

"It had been falling apart long before you came," the prince muttered to himself with sadness.

"We are almost there, young one. If you do not mind I will be dropping you off just outside your forest home."

"I understand, friend. Barasath will bare us the rest of the way; he has been running below the entire way."

"I will make sure that your journey will be a safe one. You cannot be too careful with all these orc activities going on."

"Hannon le."

They landed softly just outside the border of Greenwood, "Farewell," said the lord of the eagles, "wherever you fare, till your eyries receive you at journey's end."

Thranduil bowed his head and placed his hand over his heart, "May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks."

After that the elf raised his hand in a sign of farewell. He mounted up with Celebrial still in his arms. He turned his horse and rode into Greenwood the Great.

Ж

TBC

Translations:

Cormamin lindua ele lle: My heart sings to see thee

Vedui, yoaraer: Greetings, Ancient One

Hannon le, Hodoer. Vanya sulie: Thank you, Wise One. Fair winds

Lissenen ar' mask'lalaith tenna'lye omentuura: Sweet water and light laughter till next we meet.

A/N: Whew it's been a long time! I can only apologize and hope this chapter makes up for the delay. The thing is my brother has taken over this computer all day every day, not to mention that exams are coming up. Hopefully his laptop will be coming really soon and I hope the next chappie won't take half as long. I've already started it. Oh and please please please review, I put a huge amount of effort into this one and spent alot of time with it plus I love a good review ^_^

Till next time,

God bless and ride free, citizens.


	5. Chapter 5

**Treacherous Paths 3: ****Love and Hate**

Disclaimer: As you should all know by now I still don't own any recognisable characters.

Chapter 5:

It was going to be a long journey ahead, considering the sudden change of mood. Stopping for a while so that Thranduil could take a better look at Celebrial – finding a few scratches and bruises that he had not noticed before, Thranduil began going through all the possibilities of what could have happened if Barasath did not have the speed he was renowned for or if Gwaihir was not able to help them.

He looked up at the sky to find the great eagle was still soaring overhead, making sure that they would return home without incident. Thranduil could not have been more grateful to one of his oldest friends than at that moment.

His attention was diverted back to Celebrial, who was awakening. Thranduil made her drink some water and mixed some herbs with it for the pain. At that time his worry had already turned to desperate anger after going through everything that might have happened over and over again.

They were soon mounted onto the horse again with Celebrial now sitting at the back.

Җ

The route back to the capital became quiet. The smell of oaks and pines was all about the pair. Squirrels were heard from the treetops, a variety of birds flitted from branch to branch and the occasional deer watched them before returning to its grazing.

Celebrial still felt dizzy from the bump on her head and passing between sunlight and shade did not help any, as a matter of fact it made it worse. She sighed while staring at the stiffened back in front of her and not once had it loosened even the slightest. Celebrial guessed that Thranduil was not happy, he had, of course, been like that since the second time she woke up and she may have figured out why, "Thranduil, meleth nin, I am sorry. I only…"

"You only what, Celebrial?!" Thranduil spat out, yet hurt was also detected in his tone. He looked to the side so that Celebrial could only see the right side of his face, "we will speak more of this later."

Celebrial's eyes hardened and her own anger began to stir – her old self began to show itself again. She was about to retaliate when her new self won out and realized that he had every right to be angry with her. She did not know what she would have done if their places were exchanged. Celebrial could only imagine the worry she had put him through and that was when she began to feel guilty, but she only wanted what was best for Thranduil and his family

The silence was growing thicker along with the trees alongside them. This was an indication that they were deep in the forest and it would not be much longer before they saw the villiages and elven talans.

There was a hooting of an owl nearby. Thranduil noticed for the first time that Greenwood had grown considerably darker, "we need to find a place to stop for the night. We should be back in a couple of days."

Celebrial flinched at the icy tone of his voice; it seemed that his anger had not lessened even after hours of riding. She lowered her head and stared at her hands, "All right," she responded in a quiet, almost tearful, voice.

It was not long before they found a small, open space. Too small for a few elves to be comfortable in, but big enough for two elves to be comfortable and still have enough room for a fire. Barasath managed to lie comfortably a little way from the fire that Thranduil made.

The night crept in closer and a very few stars managed to peer through the treetops. Celebrial sighed while gazing into the dancing flames. All that could be heard were crickets and the crackling of the enflamed branches.

"I need to check your head again," Thranduil's voice seemed foreign after the long silence.

Celebrial looked up in surprise, but one look at his face caused her to turn bitter, "Do not trouble yourself! It feels fine and I am certain it will be by tomorrow!"

"We will talk further but not before I had a look at your head," Thranduil's voice had softened slightly, not liking Celebrial hurt in any form even if he was still upset with her.

Thranduil made quick work of inspecting the bump on Celebrial's head and gave her more herbs to swallow for pain and to help her sleep.

He returned to his seat opposite from Celebrial with the fire between them. Thranduil searched through his satchel and found dried meat, fruit and nuts, "Malia ten' vasa?"

Celebrial tentatively took the offered food and then water from Thranduil's flask. She nibbled slowly not particularly hungry and drank a few sips before handing what was left of the items to Thranduil..

"Thranduil, amin hiraeth," began Celebrial, "I was not thinking clearly when I ran away. It was not because of you, I truly thought that I was making things better when I headed towards Anduin. I felt like it was because of me that your father is so angry all the time. I did not want to be the cause of more pain for you.," Celebrial's violet eyes began to mist up – the smoke not being the cause, "but it appears that I have and I cannot express how deeply sorry I am." She let out a near inaudible sob and quickly wiped her escaping tears away.

Thranduil clasped his hands together that were hanging between his raised knees. He was trying to think of a response. He knew why Celebrial ran away, but that did not make it any easier for him. Thranduil's gentle voice brought her out of her reverie, "Celebrial…" he paused to mull over what he was going to say, "…you may not have heard me earlier, but I mentioned that there has been a rift in the family long before you came along. I knew that Oropher said something to upset you so, though I do not know what. Celebrial, you need to understand that none of this is your fault and that you cannot keep running away from everything when life gets difficult."

He moved to sit next to her when he saw her eyes flash at that last statement. Before she could retort Thranduil pulled her into his arms and continued, "Perhaps I was going about it the wrong way and I should never have been angry at you, but I was terribly worried about you and so much has happened during the patrol that I reacted badly. Although, that is not all, I was also hurt, beloved"

Celebrial leaned back to look into his eyes with a frown, "Hurt? Hurt about what?"

Thranduil smiled and brushed gentle fingers over her forehead; in the process removing wayward strands of hair, "Yes, hurt. Hurt that you could not come to me instead, hurt that you would rather run away than rely on me to help you through this and hurt that you did not think that we could withstand this and anything that comes our way. That is one of the things that love is all about, being able to support and strengthen each other, sharing good times and hard times as one. Do you see where I am coming from? You cannot run forever. I understand why you did before, but now you have me and I will do everything in my power to keep you safe, happy and love you like you deserve to be loved and care for you."

Celebrial had never been so touched. What has she done to deserve someone like Thranduil? She was a 'nobody' and have not treated him like he deserved, but that was going to change, "Amin mela lle." It was such a simple phrase yet she meant every word and there was so much behind it that it brought a lump to her throat and she snuggled deeper into Thranduil's arms; she could feel his arms tighten around her as well as a tender kiss to the top of her head, "and I am so very sorry for hurting you like that, I really did not mean to."

"I know, mela en' coiamin and I have already forgiven you. Here…" he pulled something out of his pocket, "…I kept this for you, not sure if you want it back though," even though he had a twinkle of humour in his eyes, Thranduil could not help the shadow of doubt creeping into his mind.

Curious, Celebrial opened her had to find a delicate star the size of her palm lying snuggly in her hand, "Oh, Thranduil…" words escaped her and she put a hand to her mouth, tears came to her eyes once again. Instead of saying anything else Celebrial flung her arms around him, kissing him deeply.

After a short while Thranduil pulled away slightly and with a smirk he asked if she would be wanting her necklace back.

She hugged him tightly this time, "Of course! I do not know what I was thinking when I took it off."

Thranduil helped her to clasp it around her elegant neck, "It looks so beautiful on you, although such s simple thing can never match your beauty," he gave her a peck on her blushing cheek.

It was then that Celebrial began to feel the effects of the herbs. Thranduil easily noticed that her eyes began to droop. He laid his cloak down on the ground for her and lay Celebrial's on top for extra comfort. It was then that he was grateful that he decided to pack in an extra blanket and two bedrolls. One was used for a pillow, "Here, lie down and get some sleep."

For once Celebrial did not protest, she did not seem to have the energy to. The moment she got comfortable she was lost to the world.

Thranduil bent down to give her another tender kiss but on the forehead this time, "Quel kaima," he went over to the dying embers of the camp-fire to add more branches and to stoke it back to life.

In the silence of the night Thranduil kept a lone vigil, allowing his thoughts to wander.

Җ

Oropher and Theliel were retiring for the night. Once more Theliel found herself worry about her eldest son. It had become a constant habit as of late. No matter how often she kept telling herself that fretting over Thranduil was futile it did not stop her all the same.

Oropher was lying on their bed staring at the high, well-patterned ceiling. What he was thinking no one could guess. His own habit of late was drifting deep into thought at any given moment and his grey eyes would often glaze over as if drifting into elven dreams.

All that could be heard was the chirping of crickets and the brush that ran rhythmically through Theliel's golden locks. Nothing needed to be said, each needed this time to sort through each of their own thoughts and concerns.

Җ

After a day or so, Thranduil and Celebrial were entering through the gates of the courtyard. Both were slightly weary from the eventful trip and needed to get their wounds seen to.

"I am just going to let my parents know that we have returned safely and give my report. Go and get that bump on your head seen to and then get some rest," Thranduil instructed to Celebrial.

"What about you? Do not think that I have not noticed that cut on your arm."

"Do not worry I will have it seen to as soon as I have spoken to the king. He will not be pleased if I did not speak with him the minute I arrive."

"All right, but the second you are free you should see the healers and find some rest yourself. You look as though you could do with some."

Thranduil gave Celebrial a tired smile, after giving her a quick kiss he strode though the passages to find Oropher.

Җ

Before long Thranduil and Oropher had shared a rather formal greeting while Theliel was more than thrilled to see her son home in one piece.

King and prince were seated across from each other with only a desk separating them. Theliel sat to the one side, feeling that she needed to hear the report.

"During the patrol we were attacked and heavily out-numbered, my lord," started Thranduil, "if not for Haldir's reinforcements I doubt any of us would be here still. I spoke with lord Gwaihir…"

"Wait!" Interrupted Oropher, "you consulted and shared our problems with someone that has nothing to do with us without my permission?!" He was clearly displeased with Thraduill and what he had to say to him.

"My king, it was not my intention to upset you in any way but I needed to hear from Gwaihir what the orc and goblin activities were all about. He has the best view of what's going on and I learnt much from him. He shared valuable information with me – information that is most useful."

"I do not care what he told you! The fact of the matter is that you shared our private business with one who is not even of our own kind and you did it deliberately without my knowledge and said bird could prove to be a traitor. Do you realize what you could have done?!"

"It truly was not my intention to go to Gwaihir without your consent, but I just felt that if anyone can offer their assistance and knowledge it would be him and I felt no evil when I was in his presence; only wisdom and strength beyond recall. Gwaihir is most honourable and I trust him entirely. I am sorry to have upset you so but I know what I did was right. I found that these are more that just raids but something far more sinister."

The word 'sinister' made both Oropher and Theliel sit up a little straighter and the fair queen spoke up for the first time since the conversation started, "Son, if you would, tell us what lord Gwaihir shared with you."

Thranduil closed his eyes and stiffened his jaw as though bracing himself for impact for a brief while, "None of what I am about to say will be easy, yet both Gwaihir and I have every reason to believe that the orcs and goblins are mere spies working under a being far more evil"

Thranduil's narration was very similar to the conversation he has with Gwaihir. He ended with a slight shudder and everything had grown considerably darker even though the sun was riding high. Everyone's faces had gone pale.

Oropher had to swallow a few times before he could speak, "How can we tell that any of this might be happening? It could just be that creatures from the Misty Mountains are merely looking for sport," he tried his best to keep the quaver out of his voice, but it was detected even though it was slight.

The prince tried to clear his dark thoughts and focus on the conversation at hand, "All evidence seems to point towards the possibility. Why else would they freely roam into our realm? I also have a feeling that they are testing the strength of our forces. These are all sobering thoughts, but things we need to consider and prepare for."

The king stood up to pour himself a goblet of wine, which almost caused the other two occupants of the study to sigh, but held back.; not wishing to add to the tension that was already surround the room.

After a swig Oropher slammed his half-empty goblet onto the desk with an adamant shake of the head, "No! There is absolutely no reason to believe that any of this is true. I have no reason to fear the worst! And you, soldier, need to learn to show respect or have you forgotten our last meeting? Not only that, you also need to learn that you cannot do what you like without my permission! I will have you swab the stables and take care of them as well as every single horse, you are forthwith demoted to corporal and no longer taking charge of the patrols and you are to be treated as any other elf and not as a prince. These punishments will go on until I see fit to release you from them. Starting today…dismissed."

Thranduil kept his head bowed, gracefully accepting his punishment, even agreeing with them and left. What worried him the most was that Oropher would not accept the possibilities of the Necromancer wanting to take over Greenwood. Something needed to be done before it was too late, but there was nothing he could do about it now and now one he could speak to without offending the king.

As soon as he turned to head towards the healers he saw his mother leave the study, "Naneth, do you mind if I had a word with you?"

"Of course not, but first go and see then healers about your arm and then meet me in the royal gardens, we can go for a walk," She gave him a kiss on the cheek then left to go sit on one of the garden benches.

Thranduil's arm was disinfected and neatly stitched up. He was soon released with the good news that the cut was not going to leave much of a scar.

On the way to the gardens he stopped by Celebrial's bed-chamber to find her resting peacefully. With a gentle smile he quietly closed the door and strode through the palace.

Җ

Thranduil and Theliel were soon strolling arm-in-arm between the beautiful flowers and plants.

"What was it that you wanted to talk to me about, ion?"

"I know that this topic of conversation is difficult to continue with, it is important that the king realizes that he needs to get ready for the worst. I have every reason to believe that we could end up in deep peril if nothing is done about it. You never shared your thoughts on it. Do you believe that the Necromancer will be attempting to build a strong establishment in our home?"

"Thranduil, this is indeed a dark subject and your assumptions are not to be taken lightly. I have no thought to doubt you, yet you cannot afford to be mistaken either. Can you imagine what Oropher will do if we make this into much ado about nothing? You need to be certain of what you are saying and be able to stake your life on in."

"I take it that you have doubts as well. What other explanations are there?" Thranduil's voice dropped an octave for his next sentence, "not having a ring of power should be enough proof. The enemy knows that we only have the powers of the forest to aide us and that we are not strong enough. We have already been over all this. Why can you not see that this threat could be very real? I need you to believe me since I no longer have the authority to find out more."

"What is is exactly you want me to do?"

"I want you to see my point of view; to see where I am coming from and then convince the king to do the same. To maybe send a large scouting party to gather more information. It is all that I can think of doing at the moment…please, mother, if he will listen to anyone it would be you."

"Son, I do not think you fully understand what the consequences could be if you are wrong. You should know by now that Oropher does not take kindly to having his or anyone else's time wasted, or having a large group of soldiers sent out for no apparent reason when he needs them here, nearer to the palace."

Thranduil put on his most pleading look he could, the same one he used to wear when he was just an elfling when he asked for treats from the kitchen staff or a new toy from his parents. His eyes would somehow grow larger and he would carry a small, but distinguishable pout. Now years later he attempted the same thing.

"Now do not look at me like that," Theliel chided, "just because you tried and succeeded with that look as a child does not mean that it will work on me this time. This is something that is a lot more serious than begging someone to play with you."

Theliel kept a gently scowl on her face, but Thranduil enhanced the intensity of the expression on his face and got his eyes to sparkle even more. It became too much for the mother so her face softened and so did her voice, "Oh, who am I kidding? Even now I cannot resist when you put that look on your face. I will see what I can do but I cannot promise you that he will change his mind or grant your wish. As it is, I will be asking a lot of him."

Thranduil's pout turned into a grin as he gave his mother a loving hug, "Thank you, nana, I know that you will do your best," he sighed tiredly, "I guess now I have to go check on the horses and make sure they have enough hay."

"I am sure that you can do that a little later. You have not stopped since returning from your patrol. I know you well enough to see that you are starting to tire. Once you had your rest you can go and check on the horses. I am sure that Barasath would not mind seeing you again. Now off with you and make sure you take a warm bath, I do not want you dirtying the bed with the filth that is clinging to you."

"Nana," Thranduil whined playfully, "I am no longer an elfling," he grinned and lovingly placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Nonsense! You will always be my elfling," Theliel patted him gently on the cheek, "besides you barely reached your majority. Now go and make sure that you do not get your stitches wet."

Thranduil left with a final kiss and a sigh. He understood that a mother was a mother and that it was a mother's instinct to make sure their children were taken care of and to fuss, but there were times that I got tiring especially for elves at his age, yet that did not mean that he did not appreciate her loving care.

Back in his room he stripped off his clothes and climbed into a freshly-drawn bath. He relaxed for a few minutes, taking his naneth's advice and kept his right arm out of the water.

Climbing out and dressing into more comfortable clothes. Thranduil could not stop a yawn from coming - the warm bath made weariness seep throughout his muscles. He collapsed onto his bed with a sigh and drifted straightaway into elven sleep.

Җ

A couple of hours later the sun was slowly setting into the west and the bright rays awakened Thranduil from his slumber.

He changed into old leathers and walked towards the stables. The horses seemed to be happy that they had a visitor; Thranduil treated each one with a pat to the nose. Barasath was prancing around and snorting, it was clear that he was growing impatient with his master's slow progress towards his stall.

After a few seconds of playful greeting the prince, or now temporary stable-hand, went around making sure that the horses had plenty of hay, water and that they would be comfortable for the night.

The other stable-hands and stable-master took note that their prince was working amongst them, they did not understand why but said nothing, only bowed and acknowledged his presence.

"Please," Thranduil started with a kindly smile, "do not see me as a prince, at the moment I am just another elf that is taking care of the stables and the royal horses."

The other elves appeared even more curious. The stable-master stepped forward and spoke, "My, er, Thranduil, you seem to be knowledgeable in what you are doing, yet if you need any help or instruction do not hesitate to come to me or any other elf here."

"Thank you, master. I do recall some of the skills I acquired while working with a few horses whilst in Doriath, but I will come to you as soon as I require your vast wisdom in this type of vocation."

The stable-master's cheeks were suddenly tinged with pink. With a bashful mutter he turned back to what he was doing.

Җ

It had been a hectic number of years; ten years to be precise – a mere blink of an eye for an elf, but busy for a certain prince nonetheless. Despite Thranduil working in the stables and working in the patrols and with the other warriors he still had his princely duties to attend to even though he was not regarded as one for the past decade.

The rest of the citizens knew of the chastisement but did not think much of it or asked questions, which was a relief for the royal family.

Thranduil was glad he was finally released and took it as an opportunity to re-visit Esgaroth. There were a few things that stood in his way though and one of them was Celebrial, she would want to come along but he did not wish to endanger her life. The bigger problem was trying to convince Oropher to give him permission. Who knew how the king would take it? It might put him back on thin ice.

The golden-haired prince ran a hand across his forehead and pressed his tightly-shut eyes with his thumb and forefinger. The attacks had increased over the years and Oropher only scoffed when Theliel tried to talk to him about the possible cause for all the attacks. Thranduil too tried again to talk to him but it was like talking to a stubborn brick-wall.

Thranduil slumped into the chair by his desk in the most unprince-like manner, yet he could not care less since it was only Veryan and Galion in the prince's study.

"Might I enquire to what is distressing you so, Thranduil?" Galion asked.

"Where do I begin," Thranduil answered, "we are being attacked more often by more insistent orcs and goblins, the king refuses to listen to my theory almost like he is in denial and I have no idea how I am going to ask him to let me go to Lake-Town and I really think a letter will need to be sent to High-King Gil-Galad in Imladris and Lord Amroth in Lothlorien," he finished with a sigh.

Veryan pulled a chair to sit next to Thranduil and placed a hand on his slightly stooped shoulder, "I thought you already went to Lake-Town."

"I did but I wish to see what progress they made and make a second attempt to get to know them and their ways."

Galion leaned over the desk on the opposite side to look into Thranduil's eyes, "Thranduil, you cannot possibly be thinking of going back there! Do you not remember what happened the last time you were there? They beat you up so badly that you barely survived all because you are an elf."

"Galion is right, mellon nin. What if you are caught again? You may not get out this time."

Thranduil appreciated their concerns but was determined, "I know you are both worried, but you have to remember that I did not know to expect and I was careless. Not this time; this time I will watch my every step more closely."

Neither was convinced but both trusted their friend and prince to know what he was doing. Galion went to pour himself some wine and allowed himself to relax.

"Do you perhaps have an idea how you are going to breech the subject to king Oropher?"

"Believe me I have been thinking over it since I got the idea a few days ago but still nothing."

Veryan took the offered cup of wine from Galion, "Perhaps you can ask the queen to talk to him."

"No," Thranduil leaned back in his seat and took a sip from his cup, "that would only be the cowardly way of doing it. No I will do it myself."

"Well," said Veryan, "here's to hoping you succeed, your trip will go as planned and that the king's eyes will finally be opened."

He raised his cup of wine and the three friends brought their wooden chalices together with a soft 'clank' and grins pasted on each of their faces.

Җ

Aranhir, now twelve; the equivalent of eight in human years, leaned away from the closed door with a grin of his own. Aranhir grew into a spitting image of his sire, some said it was most uncanny.

The elfling raced as fast as his legs could carry him to where he knew Oropher was most likely to be.

"Ada, ada," Aranhir shouted has he burst through the door of the main study, "ada, guess what!"

Oropher looked up from his papers and scrolls, "What is it, my son?"

Aranhir ran into his father's arms to sit in his lap, "I was walking down the passage to my room to get my toys when I walked past Thranduil's study. I heard him talking to his friends. And you know what he said? He said he wants to go to some place called…called…I can't remember what it is called but they said he went there before and they said Thranduil was caught there and he won't come out again," Aranhir's small brow furrowed as he tried to remember the conversation that took place.

Oropher's eyes flashed, "Really? Was it perhaps Lake-Town they were talking about?"

"Yes! That is where he said he wanted to go."

"Aranhir, penneth, do you think you could do me a favour? Go and tell Thranduil that I want a word with him."

"Yes, ada." The elfling hopped off Oropher's lap and quickly dashed to Thranduil's study. He pushed the door open without so much as knocking.

Thranduil lifted his eyes from the reports of the attacks. He was going over them with Veryan while Galion was going over the books that were lining the shelves.

"Aranhir, how many times do I have to tell you that you cannot enter a room without knocking first?" Thranduil scolded gently, "I am busy at the moment. Is there something you wanted?"

The younger brother rolled his eyes at the first statement before he did what he came to do, "Ada says he wants to talk to you."

"Now? I still have a lot of reports to go over."

"Yes, ada said so, or must I tell him you too busy?" Aranhir knew what affect his words would have on Thranduil. No one dared to turn Oropher down, say 'no' to him or claimed to have no time for him when someone's presence was required.

"No, that will not be necessary; I am on my way," he glanced between his two friends with a slight concern. What did the king need to speak to him about? Each returned his look with sympathy. It was almost never a good thing when Oropher summoned the older prince.

"Do not worry about these reports. I will go over them and give you a full summary of them," Veryan said.

"Thank you, mellon, that is most appreciated," Thranduil could not help but smile at Veryan's thoughtfulness.

The brothers walked quickly back to Oropher's study. Instead of just entering without permission like Aranhir did, Thranduil knocked on the opened door and bowed once inside after Oropher extended his hand to allow the older prince admittance.

"Please take a seat," the king offered.

Thranduil knew better than to decline and sat down with more regal than he did in his own study.

"A reliable source," Oropher started while placing a soft hand on top of Aranhir's head, who went straight to stand next to his ada's side, "tells me that you are planning to return to Esgaroth, a town filled with filthy edain."

Thranduil glanced quickly at Aranhir with a look of subtle hurt in his expression before quickly looking back at Oropher, "My king, I would not have gone if I did not have your consent; I was going to talk to you about it."

"How long have you been conjuring up the idea of making this foolish mistake."

"Only for a few days – at least four days."

"And during this time you did not think to discuss this with me?"

"Like I said I was going to once I thought it through thoroughly. It is not an easy decision to make, considering what happened before and the amount of raids there has been lately."

"Ada, maybe you should let him go, maybe this time he will learn his lesson."

"Perhaps, but he makes a valid point. We need him to lead our forces."

Thranduil was slowly becoming annoyed that he was being spoken about as though he was not in the room. He cleared his throat to reclaim the elvenking's attention, "If I may, I would like to suggest Veryan to lead the warriors should I be allowed to go: he is reliable, trustworthy and experienced. If anyone is qualified to take my place it is him, he has proven most valuable. This could also be a chance to somewhat act as a spy, the enemy will never know of my presence and I can once again report what I may discover and what I achieved in my visit."

The older prince was not happy about talking of such things in front of one so young as Aranhir, so he kept to the Westron tongue knowing that his younger brother would not understand what he was saying. Being a young elfling Aranhir still had much to learn and his speech was limited to Sindarin and a touch of Silvan.

"What exactly are you hoping to achieve through your visit?" asked Oropher.

"To learn as much as I can about men and I believe they could someday prove to be valuable allies and traders."

"I cannot think how you could believe any of that, they could just as easily turn on us in a second; I would not trust them – they are known to be the weaker race. Just look at what they did to you! You of all elves should know what they are capable of! They could easily turn on us and with the orcs and goblins inching nearer towards us we cannot afford to hold back the men as well, especially if they were looking to enslave us!"

Thranduil let out his breath knowing that Oropher could be right yet he could also be wrong, either way he had to take the chance, "That might not even happen. Just think what we could achieve if everything goes according to plan, my lord."

"Have you by any chance considered what I thought about how I feel about allying ourselves with these men?"

"Of course I have and that is why I was not going to make any solid plans, in fact, I very much doubt that I speak much while there; I will be looking to walk amongst them and learn what I can. Please, my king, I will do double the amount of duties on my return and leave the leading of the warriors in Veryan's capable hands."

"why is it so important for you to go?"

"I just feel there is so much more out there for me to see and discover," Thranduil's eyes grew alight at the prospect of seeing what another race has to offer, "it will only be for a short while."

Oropher took a few moments of thought and took the time to pour a goblet of wine. It was a fairly simple request yet the consequences of granting it was another matter. After more deliberation he came to a decision, "Very well, you may go, but should this trip end in disaster only you will be held responsible."

"Agreed and you have my thanks, my lord," he left the study and closed the door softly only to find the queen standing before him with her arms crossed and a stern look on her beautiful face, "Nana, is something wrong?" Thranduil asked, not sure he wanted to know the answer..

Theliel did not say a word only grabbed his ear in a tight pinch and dragged him all the way to the royal gardens, making sure they passed as many elves as possible.

Thranduil was protesting all the way, "Ow! Nana, easy on the ear!" He was now blushing furiously when elves stopped to stare and even a few younger elves, mostly his friends, blatantly laughed at his expense.

After what seemed like a long trip to one of the benches outside that was slightly deeper in the forest amongst a cluster of trees. Theliel all but flung Thranduil onto the stone bench and stood glaring down at him.

The young prince sighed in relied once his ear was release and attempted to rub the aching away, "Mother, what is all this about?"

"Your friends told me what you are planning! Have you lost your sanity?! What are you thinking going back there?!"

"I am thinking that there is much I can learn from this experience. I know what you are thinking, but, mother, if I do not try then I will never know. Just think how much we could learn."

"And what does Oropher think about all this?"

"He has given me permission if that is what you want to know."

"It seems like you all lost your minds! You have always been free-spirited, ion nin, and adventurous; exploring and discovering new things. I had always feared where those characteristics would take you away."

Thranduil gently took his mother's hands into his own and spoke in a soft, soothing tone, "I know you are worried about me but I will not throw my life away recklessly and where ever I may go I will always return home."

Hands still clasped Theliel sat down, sitting as close to her son as possible, "That may be so I will not worry any less. I cannot bear to see you in that state again. If something like that happened again…" she broke off with a soft sob, unable to finish her sentence.

"Oh, naneth," Thranduil pulled her into his arms to comfort her, placing a soft kiss on the top of her golden head, "everything will be fine. I will be home before you know it and in one piece," smiling tenderly he pulled away to lift her chin so that they could look each other in the eye, "but…I assure you I will not go without your blessing."

Theliel looked down at her blue-clad knees. She wore a silky blue dress with glass beads here and there – the colour really brought out the colour of her eyes and with her hair half up and half hanging down she looked truly stunning, as she always did. The stars that shone down gave her a brighter glow and accentuated the sparkle in her eyes.

"Someday," she started in a soft voice, "when you have elflings of your own you will understand what I am going through, but I cannot keep you under my wings and deny you your freedom forever. As much as I hate to say it you are growing up. Just please, please be careful. Mayhap you should take a few guards with you."

"It might be a better idea if I did not. I know it is for my own safety I want to draw as little attention to myself as possible - that would probably be safer in this case."

"You are probably right, which means you must be extra careful. Maybe you could just take Veryan with you."

"I would love his company but I need him here to take charge of the warriors and organize the patrols."

"Is there someone else that can be your companion?"

"I can think of plenty, yet with all these attacks I do not think Greenwood can afford to lose any warriors even for a short while. Mom, do not worry I will be fine."

Theliel stared at her son with pride written on her features. He looked so very handsome under the light of the moon and stars; he also glowed with an inner light of his own

"When are you planning on leaving?" She asked with a wistful sigh.

"Well, first I have to make last minute preparations so it should be after a week."

Theliel looked surprised, "So soon?"

Thranduil looked up at the stars, "It is something I wish to do as soon as I can," he lowered his eyes to once again look at his mother, "I really want to do this; the sooner the better. I will not do this if I did not know what I was doing or if there was not a good reason to."

Theliel smiled for the first time since the conversation started, "I do trust that you know what you are doing. So be it, you have my uttermost blessing"

Smiling broadly Thranduil flung his arms around Theliel and hugged her tightly, "Thank you, nana, oh thank you so very much!! I will not let you down."

Theliel laughed at Thranduil's child-like antics, "I know you will not. You have always made me proud and I love you more than you will ever know, ion nin."

"I love you too, nana."

Within a few minutes mother and son simultaneously agreed that it was high time they sought out their beds after an exhausting day.

Җ

A week later Thranduil was packing his final items into a leather sack. He packed lightly and was only taking his twin knives with him since he doubted he would come across any danger – his plan was to be elusive.

Before long, the prince shared farewells with his friends and family. As expected Theliel was reluctant to let her older son ride into potential danger although she had to trust that he was going to be safe.

After one last look back Thranduil trotted into the forest. He was so very keen on this adventure. He was going to miss Theliel and Celebrial a whole lot, yet as long as they were safe he was happy.

Who knew what the outcome would be and there was that bit of doubt that lingered at the back of his mind, "Namaarie. Tenna' ento lye omenta," he whispered before taking off at a quick pace and weaved between the trees.

Theliel and Celebrial watched till their keen eyes could no longer see the beloved figure.

"It is one of the hardest things for a mother," Theliel stated while sighing.

Celebrial turned her head to stare quizzically at the elleth who became like a mother to her, "My queen?"

The queen continued in a monotonous tone, "To watch your child leave; especially into potential danger. I should have insisted that he take a guard. What if something should happen? I would never forgive myself," her voice changed to a near desperate pitch.

"My queen," Celebrial placed a small hand on Theliel's shoulder and squeezed ever so gently, "you cannot allow yourself to wallow in such thoughts – it is not healthy."

Theliel looked at Celebrial in a side-long look and smiled slightly, "Thank you, but wait until you have elflings of your own then you will know how I really feel."

The younger elleth could not help but feel a lttle offended. She surely did not know what it was like to say good-bye to a child that did not mean that she was any less worried. If she had her own way she would be travelling with Thranduil. Celebrial glared straight ahead, "you think that because you are his mother your worry is greater than mine?"

"No, that is not…"

"I am just as concerned about him as you are! I love him I just do not want to linger on what could happen!" Tears began to build up in her eyes, "I saw…I saw the results of his mistreatments – raw results. You only saw him after I treated him as best I could. I will not be able to bear to see him like that – not again," a tear now silently rolled down her cheek.

Theliel sighed, "I am sorry, Celebrial, I did not mean to make such implications."

"No, my queen, I am the one who should be sorry. I should not have spoken to you in such a way; you have been nothing but good to me and I had no right to address her majesty in such a way," Celebrial lowered to one knee and held the queen's hand to her forehead

"There is no need for that, child," Theliel gently pulled Celebrial to her feet, "we are both feeling the tension and reacting to it. Come, let us go inside. I think a bit of tea will do us both a bit of good."

Theliel stopped at the entrance after Celebrial went inside. Looking over her shoulder she followed the route her son took just moments before with her eyes, '_Please, please keep him safe_,' she prayed silently then put her 'royal mask' back into place, allowing her emotions to remain hidden.

Җ

Going at a good pace Thranduil sang while feeling the wind whip against his face and blew his hair, making him feel free once again. It was always good to get out and it seemed that Barasath enjoyed the slow run just as much.

The trees whispered their greetings when they passed by and made sure their branches did not become obstacles for the pairs.

Suddenly in the distance there was the sound of hooves approaching. Thranduil halted his horse with a single command. Concern was written on his features; he was not sure what to expect. He quickly drew his blades and went to go hide in one of the trees while Barasath made sure to blend in the shadows of the surrounding pines.

Ever so slowly a figure came into sight, Thranduil could not see his face for it was covered by a dark cloak.

Narrowing his sapphire eyes, the prince nimbly jumped from the tree to land in front of the stranger with a dangerous look in his eyes and his sharp blades at the ready.

During a moment of scrutiny Thranduil began to wonder if it was such a good idea to only bring knives and not more weapons.

Slowly the other rider dismounted and strode towards Thranduil and it was then that the woodland prince gasped.

Җ

Translations:

Malia ten' vasa: Care for some food?

Amin hiraeth: I'm sorry.

Amin mela lle: I love you.

Mela en' coiamin: Love of my life.

Quel kaima: Sleep well.

Namaarie: Farewell.

Tenna' ento lye omenta: Until next we meet.

A/N: There you go, folks, it's finally an update. I am really sorry for keep you all waiting, my computer totally crashed to I have to borrow my mom's and it has been so terribly hectic over Christmas and all that. Hope that none of you thought I abandoned this. Never! This is my baby and I have been working to hard to let it go, plus ideas have been running through my head a lot. I already started on my idea for the next chapter. Here's to hoping I can get it up sooner than I did this one.

A/N 2: I want to thank all my awesome reviewers. You all rock! I wouldn't get this far without you. And those that put this under favourites thank you soooo much that's a great honour for me but please send a review as well and tell me what you like about this story. And please, please, please send a review for this. I really do put a hang of a lot of effort into each of my chapters and a nice review would be really wonderful. You can ask me anything you like about my series, correct me if I am wrong somewhere along the line, you can even tell me you don't like the stories and then tell me why and not just flame it.

Anyway thanks for reading.

Till next time,

God bless and ride free citizens


	6. Chapter 6

**Treacherous Paths 3: ****Love and Hate**

Disclaimer: This is purely written for the sake of entertainment and in no way am I making any money out of this.

**Chapter 6**

"Elrond!" Thranduil exclaimed. He quickly put his spare knives away and pulled his long-time friend into a hug, "What are you doing here? It has been far too long!"

Elrond returned the hug with the same amount of enthusiasm and laughed, "I am glad to see you too," he pulled out of the embrace to hold Thranduil's forearms, "High-King Ereinion decided to give me leave for a while; I took the opportunity to come and visit you. Now, my turn to ask you what you are doing here?"

"I was on my way to Laketown, but now that you are here, the trip will have to be postponed."

"Do not put your trip on hold on my account. I will just have to come with you. In fact, I would love to go. It seems you could do with the company."

"Well, if you are sure. I would love for you to come. We can make and adventure of it." Grinning, Thranduil started walking, "How have you been my friend?"

"All has been well, although, king Gil-Galad has been keeping me busy. For some reason he has gotten me more involved with governance, yet I have forebodings."

"You have? Have you seen anything?" It was well-known that Elrond had the gift of foresight and that was what Thranduil was referring to.

Elrond shook his head, "Not much, I just sense that something big is about to happen. Although, I have been having strange dreams."

"What sort of dreams?"

"Nothing important, I just see this pure golden and flawless ring. Words would appear all around it; they can be seen both inside and out. They appear red as though written in flames."

Thranduil looked perplexed, but he could not help feeling disturbed all of a sudden, "Do you know what the words say?"

"No, I try and focus on them but then they would just vanish without leaving a single mark behind. All I know is it looks very similar to Elvish."

"Have you told King Gil-Galad about it? Perhaps he can help you with these strange dreams."

"I do not want to worry him about something like this, 'tis most likely nothing," Elrond decided to change the subject before their conversation turned darker than it already was, he did not want to ruin his high spirits, "enough about me. How are you?"

"Physically...I am well."

"I can tell that not all is well with you then."

Thranduil looked down at his boots, "I fear I cannot say much. I have already displeased the king by talking to Gwaihir. He will be furious if he knew I spoke to you – a Noldo."

"Does he have to know," It was uncommon for Elrond to suggest such a thing, but he could sense that it was vital that he knew and that Thranduil desperately needed to get it off his chest.

Thranduil glanced up and looked at Elrond with a smirk, "Elrond, I did not think that you had it in you," the prince's face grew serious once more, "I am concerned about my home and everyone living there. King Oropher will hear nothing of what I have to say and these attacks have been happening more and more often."

The Noldo was, in no doubt, in shock, "Still? I remember you telling me about them a few years ago. This is a definite cause for concern!"

"Why is it that everyone I have spoken to shares my views except the one elf that matters the most?" The younger elf kicked at a stone out of frustration, "This is all wrong! We should not have to fight. We are creatures of peace, not created for war or battles...none of this is right!" Thranduil huffed and thought about the unfairness of it all.

Gil-Galad's herald looked at his dearest friend in sympathy and regret, "I know what you mean. It must not be easy. Let us not dwell on these things. We have a great trek ahead of us and new things to discover. Let us enjoy this time together!"

"You are right, of course. We should probably mount up and be on our way."

They both broke into a canter; Elrond going slightly slower, since his horse was not used to manoeuvring around roots and branches. In little time, Thranduil had sped up and lengthened the distance between them.

"Thranduil, wait! My horse is having trouble keeping up!"

The Woodland prince brought Barasath to a complete halt, "Sorry, I forgot your horse has a hard time navigating its way through forests. Once we are out in the open we can make good time. I also told the king I will try and see if I can do a bit of spying. You did not happen to see any orcs or goblins heading this way, by any chance, did you?"

"I saw a very small group heading this way a few days back. I managed to kill them off without much incident; I caught them off guard, which gave me an advantage."

"That is one less group to worry about," Thranduil sighed, "No doubt there will be more to come yet."

They took off, once again, making sure they made good progress before the sun went down any further.

Once the stars began to show, they slowed, but still continued on, not needing any rest.

Ж

Veryan read the last of the recent reports and sat back in his chair. Personally, he could not see why Thranduil chose him to lead the warriors, in his opinion, he could not see how he was qualified for such a position. He had protested and argued his point, but his prince would not be persuaded and managed to convince Veryan to accept the temporary position.

'_How does he do it? Oh, I know, he just has to open his mouth and look at me with those eyes._' He rubbed his throbbing temples. It was a high honour to in that position and to be chosen was certainly a warrior's dream, but he could think of others that deserved it more and it was alot of work.

On his first day he was already exhausted. He did not have any idea how he was going to last until Thranduil decided to return home. How did that elf manage all this? Now, he began to appreciate the hard work his friend did, "Now, where does he keep those records of the weapons?" He muttered to himself while searching through the draws and unstable piles of books and scrolls lying about. To say the least, Thranduil's office was untidy and near impossible for Veryan to find anything; Thranduil always called it his 'organized chaos'. The poor elf glanced around the room, there was nothing organized about the papers scattered on the desk and floor.

Veryan cursed when a pile of books toppled over, causing loose papers to scatter in every direction. This was turning out to be a very, very long day and he had a sinking feeling that it was going to be the first of many.

Ж

The light of dawn began to pierce through the mist, painting the sky with colours and pushing back the darkness of night.

It would not be long before the friends made it to the edge of the forest, even when they had to stop to give the horses rest and nourishment.

"This reminds me of the first time I met Celebrial," Said Thranduil softly.

"How is it going between the two of you?"

"Steadily. We have not really moved forward since it all began, although, she did try to run away not too long ago," the young elf chuckled at the memory, remembering how silly his beloved had been, yet he knew she meant well.

"All the years you have been courting her, you never thought to take the next step, and what is this about her running away?"

The duo were going at a sedated pace, enjoying the green and gold scenery about them. The sounds of the woodland creatures and the muffled sounds of the horses'hooves landing on the spongy surface of the path filled the air. Thranduil breathed in the fresh air and centered all his senses on his surroundings as though he was searching for the right answers. It was half true, be he was also recalling the past and the events that lead him to where he was then.

"Thranduil, mellon, are you well," Elrond asked after a while, with a touch of concern.

The prince exhaled slowly and opened his eyes, "Aye, I was just thinking. Life has been getting too hectic for me to think about my future with Celebrial. I do not think I am ready for anything too serious at the moment. As for her running away, long story made short: I reckon the king may have said something to upset her and she blamed herself for the falling apart of my family. I went to fetch her with the help of Gwaihir."

Elrond shook his head in mild amusement, "My friend, you sure live an interesting life."

Thranduil laughed, "Interesting does not begin to describe it! There is drama around every corner."

"At least you do not suffer from boredom."

"What I would not give for a single day of not doing anything but relax in the branches of a tree without a care in the world!" His tone may have been light, but Thranduil could not help the slight longing that crept into his eyes.

"I can assure you that that day will come," The dark-haired Elf placed a hand upon his companion's arm.

Thranduil looked sceptically at Elrond, "Is that what your foresight told you?"

"No, but I know that the sun is always able to break though the thickest of clouds, spreading light and warmth."

"It sounds as though you have been spending too much time with Mithrandir again," laughed Thranduil.

Elrond chuckled in return, "Not really. I have not seen him for centuries."

"That does not surprise me in the least. He is not called 'The Grey Pilgrim' for nothing." Thranduil leaned back lazily, enjoying his time away from the palace, "Don't you just love the forest?"

The Peredhil sat up rather stiffly and grunted, "I do enjoy the odd forest, but I fear I do not share your passion towards it," His horse tripped slightly, as though emphasising his point.

"Well, you never did enjoy the more magnificent things in life, such as these trees."

"I resent that! As a matter of fact, I do appreciate the wonders of nature; just do not expect me to climb in any tree or spend my time trying to become one with the forest."

"I take it that once again you have managed to fall out of a tree, hence your oath to avoid all trees to the end of your days," Thranduil's grin was growing. He enjoyed baiting Elrond. Sometimes, he just made it too easy.

Elrond, in the meantime, rolled his eyes and stared at his companion rather indignantly, "I would have you know that never once have I fallen out of a tree, I merely find forests a touch stifling."

All of a sudden, creaking sounds were heard all about them. Branches stretched out and snapped at Elrond, while he rode past, some even got snagged in his clothes.

The Elf-lord grew frustrated, "Confounded trees and infuriating elf! Thranduil, please tell your _dear _friends to cease and desist!"

Thranduil made as though he was thinking about it, "Hmm, I do not think so. You just insulted us even more."

Elrond sighed and rolled his eyes, which happened often when he was around Thranduil, he could be such an elfling at times, "Oh, very well, you have my most sincerest of apologies for calling forests stifling, the trees confounded and you infuriating."

"I suppose that will have to do. All right, Great Ones, you can stop now, I think we all know that he learnt his lesson."

The trees stilled in obedience, "You do realize that a day will come when I will get my own back and that might not involve a single tree."

The young prince laughed at that but said nothing.

Ж

A few days had passed and the pair found themselves looking at a small town in the distance; clearly, it was still under construction.

The trip brought back an odd mixture of memories to Thranduil, no doubt his thoughts continued to return to Celebrial and their unlikely relationship. This journey turned out to be much shorter, even when they spied a troop of Goblins trampling their way to Greenwood and disposed of them quickly.

"I take it that that is where Esgaroth lies." Elrond stated while staring off into the distance, "It is most unusual."

"Clever too. They managed to build an entire city above a lake, never seen anything like it."

"You mentioned trading with them. What could they possibly offer you?"

"Anything they have plenty of and what we lack in. We could do with stronger armour, material that is stronger than our leathers, along with food and clothing supplies. We could offer them wine and whatever other resources they desire."

"You truly have been planning this out, but I do have two questions for you: why would your folk need stronger armour, surely it is not necessary? Secondly, how do you suppose the trades will take place?"

Thranduil's face turned slightly grim and his eyes gleamed under the fading light, "I have a feeling that we may need a lot more protection in the near future. As for your second question, I have not really come up with anything yet, I am still planning that part."

"You make it sound as though your father approves. Does he?"

Thranduil shifted rather uncomfortably on his horse, "Not as of yet. I am still trying to convince him of the benefits. He still won't hear of it."

Elrond shook his head, "You know that your father does not approve. Why do you insist of going through with this? You know that would only be achieving king Oropher's wrath upon your hide."

"That's a risk I am willing to take."

Running a hand over his face, Elrond wondered how he did not suffer constant breakdowns from the amounts of stress Thranduil caused him. Most times, the Sinda was far too idealistic and naíve for his own good, but there was no point in arguing his point; they would just end up going in circles with their disagreements. Instead, he urged his horse onwards.

Ж

Nearly a week of travelling and the two travellers found themselves entering a strange and unique city. They made sure to keep themselves in the shadows and unnoticed.

The sights and sounds were most certainly foreign to the two elves. Elrond was the most wide-eyed and astounded of the two, being that he never experienced anything like it. The closest he came to what he was feeling at that moment was when he visited his brother, Elros, after he chose to become a mortal and the very first leader of the Numenorians, but this was still different. He looked down at the dark depths of the water.

Thranduil, too, was looking at the near-black depths, trying to pierce though the darkness. He barely managed to hold back a shudder, remembering his near-death experience and how the seemingly innocent lake betrayed his identity that lead to a whole string of problems.

"A copper for your thoughts."

Thranduil suddenly rushed back into the present at the sound of his friend's voice, "'Tis nothing, I was merely remembering. Not much has changed since I was last here, though it certainly has grown larger and more populated."

Elrond nodded vaguely while looking around, "Where do we go from here?"

The prince shrugged, "We have two options: we can either go stay at an inn or try and see if we can't find an old friend of mine."

"An old friend? I don't remember you mentioning anything about meeting someone here of all places."

"It was someone that helped me through the darkest moments I spent here – he gave me a reason to keep on fighting and to not give in."

At that moment, Elrond began to wonder just how much Thranduil suffered at the hands of men. Thranduil had been very careful in telling him about the events, barely skimming over the surface of the story. If only he knew more of what happened. Perhaps he should ask Celebrial or even queen Theliel.

They moved along until they spotted a beggar on the side of a walkway. With his hands held out he cried out to them, "Mercy! Have mercy on a poor soul, kind sirs! Could you not spare a bit of shrapnel for a lowly beggar?"

The poor beggar was covered in naught but rags that could hardly be called clothes. Dirt covered him so thickly that all that could be seen was two weary eyes and a few missing teeth.

"I tell you what," Said Thranduil as he slowly approached and knelt before the beggar, "if you give me some information I might decide to give you something in return."

The beggar let out a wheezing laugh that nearly caused Thranduil to pass out from the odour that erupted from his mouth; as it was, he decidedly turned into an interesting shade of green. Elrond was finding it a hard time to contain his laughter. The younger Elf decided to ignore him, for now, and kept his eyes focused on the reeking man before him.

"So, what do you say?"

The beggar nodded enthusiastically, his scraggly beard quivering with excitement, "I will tell you anything you want to know. Ask away, kind stranger."

"What can you tell me about a little boy named Asher?"

Ж

Satisfied with what they found out from the beggar, Thranduil and Elrond followed the directions the man gave them. Such information did not go unrewarded as Thranduil gave him a few gold coins to keep him going for a while.

They soon found themselves standing before a large and intimidating structure. It could almost be called a palace, albeit a modest looking one. The outside was made entirely of wood and stone. The doors were inlaid with gold, the windows were large and high up.

"It appears that your little friend is high up in society," Elrond gave Thranduil a sideways glance.

Thranduil shrugged, "His father is the master of Laketown."

They approached the two guards at the iron gate. Thranduil cleared his throat and Elrond shifted, the half-Elf was not sure what to expect.

"Excuse me, my good man," Thranduil said as he took a bold step forward, "My companion and I have travelled from afar to visit the master of this marvellous town. You see, we have been intrigued by Esgaroth and its inhabitants."

Elrond was once again reminded of why the Elvenprince was such a renowned diplomat. He could probably charm Orcs if he wanted to, but would prefer sticking a sharp object through them. He waited anxiously as the two guards looked to each other.

"What are your names and where are you from?" Asked the one. His stance appeared relaxed, yet he could, no doubt, spring into action the second he felt it was needed.

"I am Brandon," Thranduil answered, remembering the name he used before, "My friend here is Galen. As for where we are from: we are from no where and everywhere. We are wanderers, travellers, as it were."

The second guard narrowed his eyes, "You are not making any sense. Explain yourselves!"

"As Brandon was trying to say," Elrond explained calmly, "We are merely like rangers, going from place to place. We come in peace and pose no threat."

To prove his point, he held up his hands as though in surrender.

The guards stepped forward and began searching the elves. They hoped and prayed that they would not be discovered – not just yet. Whatever weapons were found were confiscated.

"These will be returned to you as soon as you are done." They each gripped the strangers by the arm and lead through the gate and down the expanded pathway that lead to the palace-like building.

They came to a halt before another guard, who seemed to be studying them and spoke in a rough voice, "Who are they?"

"They are called Brandon and Galen. I need you to tell the _king_..."The guard gave the two companions a look, remembering them asking to see the 'master'and not referring to him by his official title, "...that here are travellers that would like to see him." He turned, once again, to the travellers with a warning glare, "Should the two of you cause any trouble whatsoever, you will be dealt with immediately. There are guards stationed all over."

They nodded in agreement, but not before giving each other a perplexed look. Since when have they decided to anoint a king? Thranduil was beginning to question his decision to return to Esgaroth. They would just have to keep their identities a secret until they were far from Laketown and were returning home.

Elrond was questioning what he got himself into and Thranduil did not know what to expect here on out.

Ж

tbc


	7. Chapter 7

**Treacherous Paths: Love and Hate**

Disclaimer: Still not making any profits from this.

**Chapter 7**

The two Elves walked in silence. It was a seemingly long walk before they stopped. Large, wooden doors opened, admitting the guards and Elves in.

The room was large but kept simple. The floors and walls were made of stone, with interesting tapestries hanging from the walls and a red carpet ran from the entrance all the way to the opposite wall where three thrones sat, which seemed to be made from pure gold and velvet to make up the seats.

Elrond had to admit that he had never seen a throne-room that looked so plain and common and, at the same time, so rich and magnificent.

Thranduil finally looked upon the people that were seated on the thrones. His eyes landed on the one that was on the right of the largest throne. His eyes grew slightly wider when he saw a child with brown curls and large brown eyes.

To not appear disrespectful, Elrond and Thranduil knelt, waiting for permission to rise.

The king looked his guests over with friendly eyes and bidden them to rise.

The woodland prince, foregoing all decorum, rushed towards the child and lifted him into his arms without thought, "Oh, Asher, I've longed to see you again for such a long time!" How are you, little one?"

There were gasps reverberating all around the hall. The guards were discreetly bringing their hands to their weapons should they be needed and the child, being no more than six, began to wail, not liking the way this stranger held him.

Elrond could do nothing but smack the palm of his hand over his forehead with a groan; trust his best friend to act so irrationally!

"Wait a moment. I heard that voice before, yet I don't know from where." The words did not leave the lips of the child, but from the king. Everyone looked at him in confusion, including Thranduil. He slowly approached the stranger, who flinched when the king reached up to remove the hood.

Long golden locks tumbled around noble shoulders to frame a distinct Elven face. Thranduil slowly lowered the child in dismay – his cover had been blown.

Elrond stood silently to the one side. He was just as dismayed and removed his own hood, ready to face whatever his friend was going to.

Silence continued to reign all around as Thranduil took a step back, "Please, we mean no harm, I just came to see a little friend of mine. We met a few years ago when he fell into the lake and kept me company when I was caught."

The king gave his son a small smile, "It seems, Ashon, that this silly Elf has mistaken you for an 'Asher'. Well, we can't really blame him since you are a spitting image of me when I was your age." He looked back at Thranduil, "As for you, Thran-doo-weel, you have not aged a day. How have you been, my friend?" He asked as he embraced a shocked Thranduil.

"You...you're...but it can't be...you were a child when I last saw you. If you hadn't pronounced my name like that I would never have believed you. I have so many questions to ask you."

"Time for that later. Firstly, I would like you to meet my beautiful wife, queen Raithlyn."

Raithlyn may not have been as fair as the female Elves back home, she was indeed considered beautiful amongst her own kind. Thranduil had to admit that she was quite attractive, though she did not hold a candle to Celebrial or his mother, for that matter.

Her auburn hair was elegantly bound away from from her face, allowing only a few strands of curls to fall down her neck, small crystal beads nestled in her hair, sparkling like tiny stars. Her pale blue eyes still shone with the light of youth and motherhood. Young as she was, she was already carrying their second child. Her entire visage shone as only an expecting mother's could. Her pale lips were slighly pursed with nervousness.

Thranduil decided to break the ice first, "It is a pleasure to meet you, my fair lady," he gently took her hand and kissed it, causing her to blush, but quickly recovered to allow her expression to take on a more dignified expression, "My dear friends, I would now like you to meet my dear friend, Elrond of Lindon."

At this, the Noldo stepped forward and offered the same gesture that Thranduil gave, "Pleased to meet all of you."

Raithlyn curtsied in return, "The pleasure is all ours. I never thought I would see the day when I would meet a Firstborn and now there are two of you!"

Thranduil laughed, "Aye, but I would not consider Elrond an Elf, he is only halfway there," Elrond gave Thranduil a sharp jab with his elbow and a glare that foretold retribution before the Sinda continued, barely able to hold back his mirth, "But a day may come when Elf and Man will cross paths on many occasions."

Asher interrupted the conversation with a tired Ashon nestled in his arms, "Before we proceed in any further conversation, I am sure that the two of you must be quite tired from your travelling and would like to rest and freshen up. Two rooms have already been assigned to you and both your baths are ready should you wish to make use of them. I would personally escort you, but it seems that I have a little prince to attend to," he gazed proudly at his sleepy child, "I think we could find our rest now and catch up tomorrow. I wish you both a good night."

With that, the royal trio made their way to their sleeping quarters, leaving the Elves alone with a chambermaid.

"This way, if you will," she said.

It did not take them long to reach their respective rooms. Both were royally decorated. That is to say that they were reserved for important guest. Thick velvet curtains hung from large windows, they had already been closed. A soft carpet covered each floor and were decorated in exotic patterns.

Each room consisted of a four-posted bed, draped with rich silk material of gold, red and purple to match the curtains. The chambers continued onto a room where the occupant was allowed to lounge and next to that, the bathing chamber.

The warmth of the fire-places, built in the lounges, filled each room, bringing much comfort.

"I trust that you find the rooms to your liking," The maid asked, despite knowing the answer. These rooms, after all, were not just given to anybody.

Thranduil ran a hand over the bed covers, "These rooms are exquisite. It really is not necessary for us to stay in such chambers; any room would have done the trick. As a matter of fact, staying at an inn would suffice."

"You are the king's personal guests, my lord, not to mention a royal one. You shall receive only the best service. It would be an insult to the king's hospitality if you choose more lowlier places to stay rather than here. Now, is there anything else my lords require?"

"No, thank you. This will more than suffice," Elrond said from the adjoining doorway.

The maid bowed, "Very well then. Should you need anything there is a bell-rope hanging next to your beds, just give it a small tug and a servant will come to you in no time. Each of your bed-side tables have a jug of water if you grow parched at any time."

Before anymore could be said, she left them to their privacy.

Elrond stretched and yawned loudly from his side of the door, "I'm not sure about you but I am ready for that hot bath and soft bed."

"That must be your human side talking," Thranduil could not resist one final banter before they each retired for the night.

"You do realize that I will get you back for all those times; you will see."

They both smirked at each other for a short while and then finally gave into the temptation of the scented bathwater and oils and luxurious beds.

Ж

Morning found a small group of Men and Elves sitting around a private dinner table.

The food was nothing like the Elves ever had before. There were a variety of different flavours. They were unsure if they liked the strange tastes or not.

There was a particular dish of spicy pheasant that caused their mouths to burn, causing both elves to reach for their glasses of wine.

Asher was laughing hard, "I...see you've...finally come across some of the spices we used!"

By now Ashon was giggling and Raithlyn attempted to hide her mirth behind a handkerchief.

Their burning mouths seemed to have been forgotten, though, when the strength of the wine began to hit them and hit them hard.

Thranduil was beginning to find it hard to focus, "Where –" he paused to refocus and get his voice to sound normal. After clearing his throat he tried again, "Where did you...did you get the spices and the...wine from? The stuff is...is potent!"

Elrond was too busy trying not to sway out of his chair to pay much attention to the conversation.

Asher continued to look at his friends with a look of amusement on his handsome face, "The spices come from the East, it has become most popular with the folk here since the first shipment. The Dorwinion is from the wine-makers, neither are cheap or easy to get a hold of, but well worth the effort."

At this point Thranduil could only nod. He did not trust himself to speak, he could barely move his head without the world spinning.

Raithlyn decided that it was high time that she took pity on their guests, "Asher, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. These are our guests. You should know better than to give them such spicy food and potent wine without warning and then still laugh at their expense." With a final look of chastisement, she got up to fetch a jug of water and glasses.

Asher sat up straighter and looked decidedly shameful, "My wife is right, it was wrong of me to treat you thusly. You did nothing to merit such behaviour. You have my deepest apologies."

"It is quite alright," Said Elrond after taking a sip of water. He still felt decidedly woozy, but he could feel his senses slowly return, "No harm done, though I doubt that I would be able to taste anything for a while."

Thranduil sat for a while in thought. He was not too certain about the spices, but the wine was well worth considering for his own people. Sure, it had quite the kick, but the mix of fruitful flavours was delightful and sure to be popular amongst the Elves. After this, other wines were going to be just a touch bland. He wondered if he could purchase a bottle.

He put those thoughts aside and studied Asher. He still could not grasp the fact that his little friend was now a grown man with a light stubble. His hair and eyes were still the same shade of brown. Only now, his hair grew just above his broad shoulders, "Tell me all that has happened since I last left here. What happened to your father and how did you become king?"

"Where do I begin? Life went on as normal, but I never forgot you and thought of you everyday. I often thought of writing but I did not think that that would've been appropriate at the time. By the time I turned sixteen, events started taking an interesting turn for the better and worse, it was in that year that I met my beloved Raithlyn," he gave her hand an affectionate squeeze and kept her hand in his, "I suppose it is safe to say that it was that it was love at first sight, but we were still very young and my father did not quite approve of our growing fondess for each other, us being of a higher hierarchy."

Thranduil nodded. He knew only too well the position his friend was in, but did not say anything. He wanted to hear the rest.

Elrond glanced at his friend from the corner of his eye, his thoughts running parallel with those of his friend's.

Asher was blissfully unaware of the line of his friends' thoughts and continued his narrative, "It was only when I turned eighteen that I officially expressed my feelings towards Raithlyn, even though my father still opposed our love. Sadly though, he grew very ill in that year. It was made no secret that everyone knew that he would not last a month and certain arrangements had to be made. Surprisingly enough, he did survive the month and went on to live another year; to say that we were all shocked was an understatement, but my father was a very strong man of iron constitution and refused to give up his will to live. Unfortunately, after a year of fighting, it proved too much for his body and he had to give up the fight. By that time I was nineteen. It was then decided by popular vote that a king would establish more order in our growing city. It proved to be most challenging, it uprooted our old ways and brought in new ones. It took a couple of years to grow into this new role and the citizens also needed the time to adjust and only afterwards did I allow myself to wed Raithlyn, who took to her new role quite naturally and handled it with exceptional grace."

Raithlyn smiled and tried to hide the flush of her cheeks, "Oh, dear, you are too much. I only did what was necessary and it was out of love that I willingly became queen."

"Still I admire you all the more for it. From then on things began to go smoothly and I decided to expand my trades and bring in necessary materials to extend this city and support the people. I am still not quite sure if I am entirely adjusted to this new lifestyle. Of course, Ashon then came into our lives and we couldn't have been any happier." He ruffled his son's hair, which elicited a giggle from the small boy, "That is mostly the long and short of it. How about you, my friend? You were right before in saying that it's been too long, so much has happened since."

Thranduil sat for a long while in silence, as though in deep contemplation. As a matter of fact, he was absorbing the news of his mortal friend. The rest were waiting intently to hear what he had to say, but kept their silence, "For me, nothing so drastic and life-changing happened. As you know, we Elves are immortal, hence twenty years is merely a blink of an eye for me and spent most of that time gaining cleaning skills in the royal stables."

Elrond choked back a snort, knowing his friend clearly did something to earn himself such a lowly task. The royal family, on the other hand, was astounded to say the least. Despite Thranduil's observation of the differentiation of their lifespans, it still took them off guard to hear of someone spending a life-time of years on such a strenuous chore and still think nothing of it.

"Remarkable!" Raithlyn ejaculated. She could not fathom that she was in the presence of such mystical creatures.

Thranduil waved a dismissive hand, "Believe me when I say I probably deserved it."

"No doubt," Elrond murmured behind his glass.

Thranduil shot him a subtle glare, but did not make a further comment, "Needless to say, it was not the most interesting of twenty years, compared to yours."

Asher signalled to a servant to start clearing the table, "Still, Thranduil, surely you have more to tell than that," he stood up, "Tell us how a prince came about to swabbing stalls and what-not? That is assuming that you're still a prince?"

Thranduil chuckled, "I suppose you observed that no one would dare to submit a king to such laborious tasks, unless his mother would subject him to that. You are correct in your assumptions. Shall we take a walk whilst we talk or do you have duties to attend to?"

"I have a bit of paperwork to do, but that can wait till later, I have time to spare. Raithlyn, will you be joining us?"

Raithlyn took Ashon's hand, "I am afraid I'll have to pass. I must make sure our little one makes it to his lessons on time and check in on the food provisions, but I will see you all later," she gave Asher a quick kiss and left.

Thranduil was beginning to wonder, not for the first time, if it was such a good idea in coming, he felt like he was an intruder and he voiced as much.

Asher tsked, "Nonsense! We are glad that you did. Both Raithlyn and Ashon have been dying to meet you ever since I shared my stories of you and I am certainly all the more better off for seeing you again and meeting a fellow Elf."

The rest of the day was spent with Asher showing them the different sights and where they continued to build and rennovate. Thranduil also told his story of how Celebrial thought it would be a good idea to go off on her own, eluding to the facts of how that came about. His human friend did not need to know the sordid details of his familial troubles. He spoke of the remarkable rescue with the aid of Gwaihir and glancing over the details of what was troubling his home, attempting to not give too much away, lest he offend his father again.

Asher walked on in stunned silence. They continued on, ignoring the stares of awe given to them by every person they passed.

"So, you met The Lord of the Eagles! I thought he was merely a legend, brought on by people with an over-active imagination, but if you say you saw him and the other Great Eagles, I believe then that the stories must be true. This is most fascinating! I knew there was more to the story than what you were telling me. You've had quite the adventure. How did you cope facing the Goblins though? Those creatures are certainly made of stuff from nightmares, I doubt I will ever recover if I had to come across one of them and, worst of all, Orcs!"

This time it was Elrond who responded, "May you never come across one either, yet I am most certain that you would be able to handle your own should the occasion arise. I can sense that you're a valiant man, one that will rise to every occasion."

Asher could feel some colour rise to his cheeks. He hardly ever reacted to flattery, but this time he felt like a child that was being praised by his mentor, "Thank you, I only hope that you are right. I have not had my mettle fully tested yet."

Thranduil placed a firm hand on his shoulder as a sign of encouragement, "You are still young and will come across your fair share of trials, but always remember that we are never given anything more than we can handle, you will see."

Ж

Veryan was having a hard time of it. A small group of scouts had just reported to him that there had been another attack from the south. He had been given very little time to prepare for a skirmish, but managed to fit on a light armour and arm himself in very short time. All the warriors were trained to get ready in as short a time as possible should the need arise for them to fight; it was in times like that that the lessons came in handy.

The report was that it was not a particularly large group, yet if past experiences have taught him anything, it was that he should never underestimate the enemies or their numbers. It was not long ago when they made that mistake and almost paid for it with their lives if not for the intervention of Haldir and his own warriors. This time he had to make sure that they were prepared for any reinforcements.

Unfortunately, the enemy had the advantage of the fading day and night was fast approaching. Nevertheless, he rode out with a number of well-qualified elves and rode towards the chaos. He just hoped that the Elves that were already there were holding their own until they arrived.

It felt like ages before Veryan picked up the sounds of weapons clashing. He let out a sigh of relief, knowing that the sounds meant that there were still Elves that were well enough to carry on fighting, he just hoped that they made it there on time.

As they got closer, the sounds of battle grew louder. Before long, the arriving group quickly took up arms and wasted no time in dispatching whatever Orc or Goblin they came face to face with. Veryan happily, but fiercely, hacked his way through the horde, making sure that none of his victims arose from where they fell. A few of the archers kept their positions in the branches of the surrounding trees, making rapid progress in their killings, also confusing the lesser intellegent of the creatures, namely the Goblins. This gave the Elves the upper-hand and victory was in sight.

It was not quite over though. Rustles in the surrounding foliage heralded the arrival of another group – not much bigger than the previous one, but possibly more vicious and determined. Veryan cursed, but was not entirely surprised. As said before he made sure that he and the other Elves were prepared for the second group, he just prayed that there wasn't another one after this one.

The Elves re-grouped as quickly as possible and took their strategic places, the ones that were given to them by Thranduil himself for certain types of battles, this strategy being the most common. Veryan took his place at the head of the close-ranged Elves, wielding a long spear. At the first sighting of an Orc, he swiftly threw his weapon and with so much force that the spear pierced right through the creature's skull to come out the back. Satisfied with the dying screech of pain, he led the Elves on the ground to face the oncoming enemy. The archers took this as a signal to begin firing.

Once again, the Goblins were in disarray as the Orcs attempted to keep them in order and to keep their own heads attached to their shoulders.

The battle continued to rage on, neither side willing to give way. It was a much harder fought battle than the earlier one. It was a good thing that Elves were blessed with keen senses, even in the dark and they were renowned for their grace and stamina, which was very useful in situations like these.

While the Elves' concentration was focused on the dark creatures at hand, more were trampling their way to the fight bearing flaming torches. With ominous growls they began to set fire to leaves of and brambles. It was within a matter of seconds that flames grew and set more plants and trees afire. Thick smoke arose and filled the place.

For the second time Veryan cursed; this was not something he was prepared for. Now he had a fire to worry about on top of keeping himself and the warriors alive. It struck him how cleverly the Orcs had planned all this, they did not chance to set everything aflame. No, they had been planning this, knowing the damage it would cause and the Elves would be too occupied to take care of the fire.

Should they make it out alive and the second Thranduil returned, he was going to have a long discussion with him about the unexpected ingenuity of their enemy and to never ever force him into a situation like that ever again. He was feeling utterly helpless and in over his head.

Ж

tbc


	8. Chapter 8

**Treacherous Paths:****Love and Hate**

Disclaimer: I wish I owned these well-known and much loved characters of Tolkien's, but unfortunately I don't, therefore, I shall have to settle for playing around with them without earning a cent from them.

**Chapter 8**

The heat grew with intensity along with the spreading flames. The archers dropped gracefully from the treetops with no other choice but to fire their arrows from the level of the ground. Veryan looked around at the different faces of his warriors and admired their brittle fighting spirit; he gave them each a curt nod of acknowledgement for their courage; the least he could was offer them hope.

With a loud battle cry he raised his sword with fierce determination and began taking care of the foul creatures. The Elves faught hard despite the sweat pouring from their faces and the thick, suffocating smoke. The Orcs howled out their own battle cries and clashed their weapons with those of the Elves'.

As he was clashing swords with one of the larger Orcs, Veryan was attempting to think out a plan of how he was going to deal with the fire and the enemy. The flames could not go unchecked and who knows how long it was going to be before this battle came to an end. He could feel the heat seep through his armour and clothes and the smoke was making it harder and harder to breathe, but he had to keep his focus and try and come up with a plan. He swiftly danced out of the way of the swinging scimitar and retaliated with quick swings of his own. There was no water in the near vicinity, that he knew. There had to be a way to douse the fire with other means than water.

He had to work quickly and urged the Elves' to do the same. If they did not eliminate the Orcs and Goblins soon enough the whole of Greenwood could go up in flames. It was time to forego fighting fairly and opted to play dirty. He sent a sharp kick to the stomach so hard the Orc fell on his back. Veryan took the opportunity to stamp down hard on his sword arm and retrieved the weapon from his lax fingers and quickly finished the beast off.

It felt like hours before Veryan could come up with some sort of plan. It was not the best of ideas, but considering his options, he had no other choice. The archers, at the moment, would not be much use with their bows on the ground, which made them available to try and douse the fire. The rest of them would distract the enemy and defeat them. The archers had no mean feat on their hands; without water available they would have to come up with other means of getting rid of the fire.

Ж

Their headaches were growing worse, the sun was becoming blazingly bright. The slightest sound would cause a jolt of pain to hammer at their skulls.

"I say, are you two alright?" Asher asked with some concern. All he got in return was a grunt and groan of pain, "You are both looking rather pale – more so than usual. Perhaps you should lie down and get some rest."

Thranduil shook his head, but regretted it as he pressed the palm of his hand to one of his throbbing temples, "No, no, we're alright. Just a slight headache that's all. I'm sure it will pass in a moment."

Asher did not look convinced in the least. He looked at Elrond to see that the Half-Elf was slightly bent and was clutching his stomach, "I can clearly see that all is not well. Now, I insist that we all go inside – out of the sun – and get the two of you to your sleeping-chambers," He could tell that they were about to protest, so he went for a different strategy, "In any case, I should be getting to that paperwork before it piles up even higher."

"Very well then," Elrond conceded, refusing to admit that a nice, cool room, on a soft bed sounded appealing at present,"but don't expect us to be laying about all day."

Asher's mouth quirked into a slight smile and lead the way back to what could only be called a somewhat rustic palace, "I will be sure to have someone bring you herbs for your hangovers and nausea, foul tasting they may be they work wonders."

Thranduil muttered something about Elves never suffering from hangovers, it was merely the ailment of the Edain*. Elrond he could understand, afterall, he was only half an Elf, the rest was Man.

"You do realize that I can hear you," Elrond grumbled, "I may be a Peredhil but my hearing is as sharp as any Elf's."

"My dear Elrond, do you really think that I would've said that if I didn't think you could hear me? I –"

Asher decided that it was time he interfered before any harsh words were exchanged by the grumpy pair, "I have reason to believe that any Elf would suffer under the effects of the Dorwinion, you both being proof of that, but it will pass soon enough once the two of you are settled and resting."

The two Elves continued to glare (rather weakly, I might add) at each other, but did not commence with their previous line of argument.

Ж

Upon waking Elrond was delighted to find that his headache and nausea had vanished, leaving him feeling renewed if slightly drowsy from the relief of pain.

The sun was already beginning to set, alighting the room with a soft, soothing glow. Elrond enjoyed this time of day, but he was rather disappointed that he spent most of the day sleeping off the after effects of the wine and possibly the spices. He sighed as he ran his long fingers through his dark hair. He supposed that he should be getting ready for dinner.

While he was selecting out what he was going to wear Thranduil burst into his room, already dressed and refreshed for the evening meal, by the looks of things.

"I know that courtesy and privacy is not very common from where you're from and I know that your culture tends to shy away from such practices, but I would prefer it if you would at least make the effort of respecting a closed door by knocking, waiting for permission to enter and only then, enter," Elrond stated in a dry tone, keeping his back to his friend.

Thranduil smiled impishly and sat on the edge of the bed with a flourish, "Forgive me, us Woodland Elves have only just passed the first stage of perfecting common courtesy; as you can see, we still have quite a way to go. Besides, I heard you were up and about rummaging through Arda knows what and making quite the racket while you're at it. If you want my advice, I would go with the green and gold robe."

Elrond gave his friend a glance out of the corner of his eye before bending over to pick up some of the clothes he dropped on the floor, "I see your sarcasm has improved. Been taking lessons? Blue and silver it is then." He placed the outfit before him and assessed it in the mirror, "Yes, definitely the blue one."

"I've been practising. Oh, very well, ignore my sound advice. It will be on your head if our hosts pass down jokes from generation to generation all soley based on that particular robe, and bards will be adding amusing lyrics to unwritten songs inspired by the flashing lights."

Elrond huffed, feeling rather offended, "What flashing lights? What on earth are you talking about?"

"If I must explain it to you," Thranduil said rather drearily, "it is all that silver that has been threaded through the robe, there is so much of it that when the light hits it it shines far too much to be tasteful. The green and gold one has a shine of its own but is not overwhelmingly bright."

"If you like the green and gold one why don't _you_ wear it then?" Elrond flung the robe at Thranduil as though it was a snake.

Thranduil caught it easily enough, "First, I am already attired in my chosen outfit and secondly, you know as well as I do that it would never fit me – you being larger than myself and all that."

Elrond did not know whether to be offended by that or not, but his cheeks coloured all the same, "I'm sure that you barged in here uninvited, I might add, with another purpose than to insult myself and my taste in clothing. What is it you wanted?"

"Don't be so sensitive, my good Elf, I am merely handing you constructive critism and in no way was I insulting the condition of your physique, just stating the obvious facts. You are correct though, I have come to tell you that you have approximately fifteen minutes to get ready. Asher has been kind enough to send us an escort to show us where we will be meeting for dinner; also, you will need to pack tonight, for tomorrow we are leaving."

Ж

Night continued to progress onwards, Ithil continued to shine as though nothing was out of the ordinary and soon he would be slumbering as Anor took his place. Thick plumes of smoke rose steadily, veiling the stars, proving to be even more of an advantage for the beastly Orcs and Goblins.

Veryan and his troop of Elves continued their valiant fight against both the creatures of darkness and the fire. The archers were doing their utmost best to bring the flames under control, but, sadly, to no avail. It seemed that nothing short of a heavy rainfall would bring an end to their troubles. It did not take long for the fire to catch the attention of the Elves residing in nearby villages and a number of messages were dispatched in a desperate plea for aid. Many were arriving from all directions, bringing with them whatever water they could carry.

Even the Elleth and the Elflings took part, albeit the Elflings were situated as far away from the the still raging battle as possible while still being able to help in their own small way. Even some of the non-fighting Elves took up arms to help in the fight. Veryan was not at all happy with this arrangement, yet he was happy with whatever help he could get, he just did not want to know what his prince would say about this whole mess and how he almost caused the whole of Greenwood to go up in flames through negligence. He shook his head roughly and cleared his mind of all self-pitying thoughts; there was still work to be done and he would worry about what he was going to tell the king and Thranduil once this was all this over.

Ж

Thranduil could sense that something was wrong. He was becoming desperate to get home as quickly as possible. It was a bittersweet parting that was shared between the Elves and the Edain - they've come to know each other fairly well over the past couple of days. He gave his cloak, along with the brooch, to Asher in good faith and long-standing friendship, also as the symbol of a trust that he hoped would continue to thrive between Greenwood and Esgaroth.

Once the exchanges had been made, the two friends were once again travelling through the open fields and stopped at a certain point. Thranduil was looking rather apprehensively in the direction of his home and noticed the black smoke. His features turned ashen and his eyes grew wide, "What has happened?" He did not spare another moment and galloped full speed ahead, Elrond close on his tail.

The speed that they were going at was so immense that they made it to the disaster in no time. They looked around wildly, attempting to make sense of the situation. Thranduil looked around and spotted Veryan in the dead-centre of it all and looked to be in a whole lot of trouble. He swiftly unsheathed his knives and began fighting the dwindling enemy. At least that was something that was going the Elves' way: their enemy was being defeated – the blinding light of day leaning in favour towards the Elves.

One Elf was about to dispatch the final Orc when Thranduil quickly stepped in, "No, let us keep this one alive a little while longer."

Everyone that heard looked questioningly at him. It was Veryan that attempted to ask the question that was on everyone's lips, "My prince, what-"

"I will explain later," Thranduil cut him off rather briskly, "Tie him up and set up guards to watch him, make sure he doesn't escape. In the mean time, there is a fire to be dealt with and then later I want an explanation." He shot Veryan a stern look before seeing to the fire.

Veryan stared at Thranduil's back with a troubled look. It seemed clear now that the Sinda was not at all happy with him. He gave a deep sigh and wondered if this incident was going to affect their friendship or even Thranduil's trust in him and his abilities.

Elrond seemed to be able to read his thoughts and placed a steady hand on the poor Elf's shoulder, "Don't take his actions to heart. This was not something he was expecting to find when he returned home and he's only acting out of concern. Come, let's deal with this foul creature so long."

It took a fair amount of effort to restrain the Orc, clearly he was determined not to become a hostage to the Elves. After plenty of kicking, clawing and biting they finally had him bound tightly to a sturdy tree and took it upon themselves to keep a close vigilance over him.

It seemed that more than half the population was now fighting the immense fire. They were all running to and fro with whatever they had to contain water. It was going on for another three hours when Oropher himself finally arrived with even more Elves that lived nearer to the capital. Each of them carried large barrels on their shoulders; even Theliel and Celebrial had arrived, carrying slightly less heavier barrels. Oropher began issuing orders and set each Elf at strategic places, focusing on the flames that were causing the most damage. Thranduil could not help but sigh with relief when he spotted the added help.

It took another couple of hours or so before the fire was subdued to a more manageable problem and soon after that it finally died, but the damage was already done. There were no cheers or even smiles of victory, everyone was subdued and melancholic; they glanced around at the charred remains of their beloved trees. Sure it was a small portion compared to the rest of the great forest, it still dealt a heavy blow and some even blinked back tears.

Thranduil stomped over to one of the trees and laid a hand on the bark with his eyes closed for a full minute – lost in thought. Around him most of the Elves slowly dispered, no longer wanting to see the devestation. The only ones who remained was himself, his family, Celebrial, Elrond and Veryan.

The prince sighed and pushed himself away from the tree and approached his parents,"It appears that we arrived just in time, the damaged could've been a lot worse, especially without your help."

Oropher knelt to the ground and and picked up a hand full of ash and rose, "Did you really think I was going to sit back and watch while my kingdom is burning to the ground," there was no malice in his voice, only a certain amount of weariness, "as it is, I doubt that this part of Greenwood will ever fully recover but we can contribute to the re-growth."

"It will take a lot of work, years worth even."

Theliel smiled softly and ran a motherly hand through Thranduil's unkempt hair, "Yes, but I think the results will be worth the effort. Now, I think it's best we head home and leave you to whatever you have in mind for that diabolical creature." Her eyes hardened to steel and her voice took on a hard edge at the last part. She took a deep breath and allowed her voice and features to soften once again, "don't take too long, there is a bit of catching up to be done, especially from your side. I'm glad that you are home safe." She patted his cheek and left with Oropher.

After Celebrial watched them depart with a small smile she stepped towards Thranduil and took his shoulders in her hands, other than that and looking him over with sharp eyes, there were no other displays of affection.

Thranduil was fully aware of their audience, and though he did not mind sharing a tender moment with Celebrial in front of friends, he certainly was not going to allow an Orc to be a witness to such an intimate show of love, "You should head back as well," he said in a soft voice.

Celebrial looked down briefly and looked back up to stare into his eyes, "I've missed you."

He gave a soft laugh, "I've missed you too and I promise I will give you a proper greeting as soon as I've dealt with everything," he turned and gave a pointed look to the snarling Orc.

"I understand. Just try not to be too long."

"I will do my best," he gave her a quick, parting kiss on her forehead and strode back towards the trio. This was one of the least parts he was looking forward to.

Veryan and Elrond raised their eyes when they saw their friend approaching. Thranduil went over to Elrond and spoke directly to him.

"You are under no obligation to remain here. I am sure that you will agree that King Ereinion will be seeking your services quite soon."

Elrond smiled at his friend, "Maybe, but I'm sure he can spare me for another day or so. I intend to be here for whatever you plan to do with the Orc, you just may need my help."

"So be it, but I will not have you delayed any longer than what is necessary. Let us get started then."

With this he turned his most fierce glare to snarling creature and without warning he grabbed the front of his tattered garb in a harsh grip and spoke in an icy tone, "I have a few questions for you and I expect answers!"

A strange sound emitted from the Orc's throat that could only have been a hideous cackle, "Like I would tell you anything, scum."

Thranduil pulled out a sharp blade and pressed it into the Orc's throat, "Careful, Orc, you are outnumbered and greatly at a disadvantage, so I suggest you cooperate or things could turn really ugly, not taking into account your visage, of course. What we want to know is who sent you? Who is behind all these attacks?"

In reply, the Orc spat in his face, causing Thranduil to stagger back in revulsion. Without thinking, the Elf brought a heavy fist down and slammed it into the vile beast's jaw.

"I will not ask you again," Thranduil all but yelled. "Who are you working for?"

The Orc grinned, showing off the thick, black blood that was dripping between his vicious teeth and down his chin, "You weaklings will ne'er get it outta me. None o' you have th' guts to torture it outta me neither!"

Thranduil bared his teeth and hissed through them, "Do not underestimate the extremes an Elf would go through in order to get the information he wants! You are at our mercy and if you don't want to suffer greatly before dying you will answer my questions!"

He did not savour the idea of torturing any creature, be it an Orc or not, but he was desperate to get to the bottom of this conundrum, even if it meant going against every fibre of his being. To his dismay, the Orc showed no signs of relenting, in fact, he appeared even more tenacious than before. Thranduil found that he had no other choice. With a swift flick of the wrist he ended the creature's life.

Veryan looked aghast, "What did you do that for? Now you will never have the answers you seek! I'm sure that he would've given in after a bit of convincing."

Thranduil looked darkly at the other Elf, "You and I will adjourn to my private study where we will discuss everything that has happened in privacy," he then turned to Elrond, "Elrond, our services are at your disposal. I advise that you get some rest and let me know when you're ready to leave. Though, before you do any of that, you may want to make an audience with the king to insure that your presence is somewhat welcome in his halls and that rooms can be arranged for your stay."

The addressed Elves nodded – the one less keenly than the other. Veryan did not like the tone in his friend's voice and was not quite sure what to make of it. He had never known Thranduil to speak to him in such a manner; he seemed most sure that he knew what the reasons were, but that didn't make him any less fidgety or guilty.

Ж

Thranduil was glancing over a few pages that were laid out on his desk. They were the records that Veryan had been keeping in his absence; so far there was nothing that really caught his attention, but he would have a closer look at them at a later stage. For now, he had other things to deal with, mainly the other Elf that was seated across from him. He leaned forward slightly to stare into Veryan's eyes, "Where was your runner?" He asked in an even tone.

Veryan had managed to stop squirming ever so discreetly to look back at Thranduil with genuine confusion, "Beg pardon? My run-"

"Yes! Your runner!" Thranduil said sharply and standing up to stare down at the now alarmed Veryan, "where was he?"

Veryan swallowed and tried not to show his nervousness, despite his attempts, he could no longer look his prince in the eye and barely look at his barely contained anger. Fortunately for him, he recalled what Thranduil was talking about and found his voice, hoping it would not quaver, "Thranduil..." he stopped when he saw the downward twist of Thranduil's mouth, "...my prince, surely you must understand that we were fighting a losing battle; there were no warriors that I could spare, otherwise I would've sent for help!" At this stage, Veryan truly felt like an Elfing that had been naughty and now had to face the consquences.

Thranduil took a few deep breaths before re-taking his seat and took on a slightly calmer tone, "What strategy did you use?"

"The standard one, my lord. It seemed to be the best one at the time."

"Tell me everything that happened prior to our arrival."

Veryan stilled his nervousness and began his narrative without going into too much detail, "we were indeed doing quite well and were so close to defeating them that I was completely taken off guard when they started setting torches to the trees, but that is still no excuse for allowing the fire to spread so far," the weary Elf looked down, too ashamed to show any sort of bravado before his prince, "I should've known better."

Surprisingly, Thranduil did not feel any sympathy or compassion for Veryan, "Yes, you should have! There's a reason why I placed you in charge, I trusted you to make the right decisions! How could you have let this happen?" He slammed his hand upon the table with a resounding thud.

The poor Elf nearly jumped out his chair and stared at the now imposing figure of Thranduil, "Thr...my lord, I did what I could under the circumstances. I will be the first to admit that we weren't prepared," his voice rose and felt that he was being unjustly chastised, "tell me, what would you have done had you been in my position?"

Thranduil narrowed his eyes and they became incisive, his voice just as sharp, but quiet, "I do not appreciate being spoken to in such a manner. We may get along, but I am still your superior. I have every right to question your judgement; if not for your fumbling, a large section of the burnt site might still have been saved. I think the answer lies in my very first question."

Veryan felt like shrinking in his seat. Thranduil did have every right to question his judgement and he himself had no right to take the tone that he did. There were so many of his emotions swirling around, yet the one that stood out the most had to be hurt. Was Thranduil truly so disappointed in him? Did he lose the trust of what could possibly be his closest friend. Worst of all, did he lose his friendship due to his botch-up, "I am truly sorry," he whispered so softly that if not for Thranduil's Elven hearing he would never have heard the remorseful words, "I know there is nothing left I can say or do that will mend my mistake – I can probably guarantee that this will never happen again," he desperately needed to get away from all this and hoped that Thranduil will bring this conversation to an end, yet it seemed he had other ideas.

Thranduil stood and began to pace. He needed to get his thoughts and emotions in order before he said something rash that he might regret, "Veryan, I'm not going to apologize for being so harsh to you. I have my reasons; them being that coming home to a flaming disaster is not an ideal welcoming, but that is beside the point. We cannot allow our concentration to slip. Our enemies are becoming ruthless by the day, which means we have to step up to the plate and meet their challenges with every preparation. I know I slipped up once too and underestimated our enemy, it nearly cost our lives; that is something I have to live with. I elected you as captain of our forces because I knew you could handle it and I still carry that belief, not because you're my friend but because you are one of the best and have come up with unique ideas in the past. I wanted you to realize your gifts and not think of my choice as a gift of friendsip, that would only lower your self-esteem and cause you to lose trust in your own abilities – a quite dangerous scenario. I wanted to get my point across."

"Well, you sure got it right," Veryan laughed nervously, relieved that their friendship was not in jeopardy and touched by the speech, "I didn't think of it that way. I suppose I had been a little unsure of myself right from the beginning and that is why disaster struck. I kept second-guessing myself and trying to remember what you would've done."

Thranduil finally allowed himself to smile a bit, "Glad it sunk in. Why don't we move from this stuffy room to my bed chambers. I'm sure there must be a cozy fire going and there is this type of wine that I would like you to try and I want your honest opinion of it."

Veryan's eyes sparkled back to life, "Now, that sounds like an idea, but just one question. Why did you give that Orc an easy death? With enough motivation I am sure he would've answered your questions."

The prince shook his head, "It would've been no good. Every Orc and Goblin that I have come across have feared for their lives. They would do anything to be spared, even give away their most darkest secrets, but this was different. This Orc was willing to go through what ever pains he could to keep the identity of his master. It's a most chilling thought and I do not want to even begin imagining what this terrible enemy is capable of that these monsters would rather face agony and death than answer to him. Even if I had decided to drag it out of him under pain of death he would still have refused and taken his answers with him to the grave as it were."

Veryan couldn't stop a shudder from escaping, "I don't like it. I don't like it one bit. I can now see why you didn't want me to fail, we just can't afford to anymore. If things continue on like this we will _have_ to be ready."

Ж

Tbc

* I'm not exactly sure if Elves really do suffer from hangovers. I'm unaware of Tolkien ever mentioning anything like it, it certainly should be up for discussion. Just for the sake of a bit of comic relief I thought I might put it in, though I don't think they would suffer as badly as humans do.

Oooh seems like it's opposite day for Thranduil and Oropher. It appeared to me that Oropher was quite decent, although I did mention that he is an Elf of many facets and I bet you did not expect such a reaction from Thranduil, I thought it would add a new sort of flavour to the series, but as you saw he had his reasons, so we can't be too hard on him :D

Here's till next time when I will finally be posting the epilogue.


	9. Chapter 9

**Treacherous Paths 3: ****Love and Hate**

Disclaimer: This is merely done for the benefit of enjoyment, I'm not making any profit from this whatsoever.

**Epilogue**

_Thranduil,_

_Elvenprince of Greenwood the Great_

_I trust that my letter finds that you are well. I'm writing to you to let you know that I am most ecstatic; Raithlyn has finally given birth to the most beautiful baby girl. She is truly a handsome combination of both myself and my wife. I fear that I will have a hard time fighting off any potential suitors once she grows, but for the time being I could not be any happier or prouder._

_Everything has fallen into place and I have every reason to believe that most of the rough patches that came with my sudden rise in powe have now been smoothed over – I am most content, to say the least. I hope the same could be said about you. I could almost feel the frustration through the words you wrote to me a few months back. I know that with time that section of the forest will recover, may you carry that same hope with you._

_I fear that I must cut this letter short as even now my wife and new daughter are calling for me and I cannot take the risk of making them wait. Raithlyn has been known to make a full-grown man wither just with her gaze. I beg that you will send my greetings to our mutual friends and may your Great Forest continue to grow ever greener and bountiful._

_Yours faithfully,_

_Asher,_

_King of Esgaroth_

Thranduil read the letter and couldn't help the smile that crept onto his visage. They had been keeping in correspondence for a while. The letters were carried by hawks, it being a lot less trouble that way.

He immediately went for his ink and paper and began his reply. Sending his congratulations to the parents and commiserations to the father in advance for having to ward off potential suitors.

Once it had been dispatched, he climbed one of the trees and perched himself on one of the higher branches. At such a height he could clearly see where the devestation took place. Was that just the beginning of what was to come? None of what happened sat well with him. The only good thing that came out of it was that it finally opened Oropher's eyes; it had more impact on him than any words would and that brought some consolation.

Still, with the few materials they had, the warriors would have to make peace with their leather armour, until Oropher could find somewhere where enough metal could be supplied – Dwarves, of course, were out of the question.

Thranduil gave some thought to his human aquaintance, but decided not to give voice to his ideas, lest he offended the formidable king. Such as it was, he endeavoured to turn his thoughts to lighter things and allowed himself to indulge in the stillness as the rays of Anor warmed his face.

If only life could remain that simple.

Ж

_Many centuries later_

Horns blew, heralding the arrival of High-King Gil-Galad and his convoy of soldiers. Their horses' sides were heaving and foam dripped down the sides of their mouths, giving testament to the hard ride.

A few month's notice had been received by Oropher that Gil-Galad would be making a personal appearance on his doorstep, along with an escort. Oropher was far from pleased with the idea, yet wisely he accepted in the event that the High-King obviously had something important to say if we was going to take the trouble to leave his lap of luxery in order to make an audience with a hot-tempered King.

The arrival of their Noldor kin was enough to cause a commotion among the Silvan Elves. Oropher had to refrain from rolling his eyes at the pomp and ceremony of his visitors. Why did they always have to make such an entrance? He forced his mask into place and made an attempt on civility, "King Ereinion, good to see you again. I trust your travelling went smoothly and without incident."

Gild-Galad gracefully dismounted and raised his proud head ever so slightly, "Yes, it did. Thank you for graciously allowing us to impose on your renowned hospitality, though I fear that this will be no pleasurable visit – there is much to discuss."

"Indeed? Well then, perhaps you and your escort would like to first rest before resuming business, unless, of course, your news is much too dire to wait."

"We would be most obliged. Tomorrow, if it is convenient, we shall hold a meeting of great confidentiality."

"I should be able to spare a few hours. Please, make yourselves at home." Oropher swept his arm out in indication for them to enter the palace and got Galion to show them the way to their rooms.

Ж

The meeting took place early on the following day. Only Gil-Galad, Elrond, Oropher and Thranduil attended, as it was, according to the High-King, not yet the right time for everyone to learn of the reason for his coming. The atmosphere was tense and not even the wine seemed to loosen the tension. Oropher was the only one pacing around his private study while the others sat around his large wooden desk.

"So, you are planning to build up an army to fight against Gorthaur, who is more commonly known as Sauron," Oropher stated as he stood before the large window.

Gil-Galad straightened in his seat and raised his proud head slightly, "It is the only way, Oropher. If we do not rally against him he will grow far too powerful to be defeated and he must be defeated, for the sake of all the Free Peoples and it must be done now before it's too late."

"I still do not fully understand why you came all this way to tell me this. What do we have to do with your little war games?"

Each displayed a different reaction to the ill-spoken words: Thranduil winced, Elrond shifted uncomfortably and Gil-Galad narrowed his eyes ever so subtly, but showed no other outward sign of his offence. Somehow he managed to keep the calm in his voice.

"I should not make light of this matter. There is more at stake here than even you realize. I am not looking out for a reason to make war, I want us all to unite as one and fight for a common cause, and that is freedom! Oropher, you and your Elves are renowned for your strenght and determination, your spirits are wild and you fight with a passion not seen anywhere else, also, your weaponary skill is like no other's. I am asking that you join in this fight. You and every able-bodied Elf that is under your command."

Suddenly there was a long pause and everyone was allowing the request to sink in. Oropher resumed his pacing and he looked to be in very deep thought. The High-King cleared his throat to break the silence.

"You don't have to make the decision now, I will give you time to think about it, but I will need an answer very soon."

"Exactly how much time do we have to decide," Thranduil asked.

"I'm afraid this cannot be delayed for longer than two or three years, as it is, it will take months for preparations to be completed and some of us will muster in Amor and then from there to the east of Imladris where we will be joined by more allies and from there our course will bring us over the Misty Mountains where we can meet up with you and Amroth of Lothlórien. It's going to be a long process and we will need to know what rations will be needed. Please, Oropher, I implore that you will truly consider this. Let us, for this time, put aside all our differences."

"If you will but give me a month, I will give you my answer." Oropher opened the door, signalling the end of that one monumental meeting.

Before leaving the room, Gil-Galad turned to look Oropher in the eye, "This will be a war to end all wars and it will be spoken about for lifetimes to come. Our chances will be very slim without the strength of your forces, but I trust and I know that you will choose what you think will be the wisest course. I will leave you for now with this final thought: it would truly be my honour to have you fighting by my side, Oropher o' Greenwood the Great."

Ж

True to his word, Oropher came to his decision exactly a month later. It took much deliberation and no small amount of imput from his eldest. Thranduil had been strong in his opinion that there was no two-way about it, they had to do the honourable thing and take part in a battle against a formidable enemy and even stated that he was going, with or without the rest of his Folk.

Of course, that caused a slight debate that went on for a few days, but even Oropher admitted that it would've been cowardly if he stood back and spectated from a safe distance and that would be unthinkable. The great King would never be able to live his immortal life knowing that he faltered when he should've fought like the brave warrior he was.

With that in mind, he pulled out his old sword and armour and began sharpening and polishing right after he sent an emissary to Imladris.

Then all that was left to do was to make sure that him and his people were prepared and willing to give their all to the cause of the Last Alliance.

Ж

The End

A/N: Can you believe I actually wanted to cry while heading towards the end of this final chapter. That might explain the slight sentimentality between Gil-Galad and Oropher, plus I've grown quite attached to Oropher and it's getting close to when he's about to be killed, which will actually be very sad for me to write, I know it's very strange considering how brutal I made him at times, but now I just feel like giving him a big ol' squeeze ^_^.

I seriously want to thank Elindë for sticking by me through this series that took me ages to complete. Without her support I would never have been able to get this far and still go further. So thank you so much, mellon, I trust that someday I'll be able to return the favour.

Also a big thank you to those others that reviewed, alerted or favoured this series, you may be few but no less valuable and I truly appreciate each and every one of you.

There will be a sequel after this, so it's the ultimate end, only the end to Treacherous Paths. I really enjoyed writing this but I will also freely admit that it is a relief for me as this was not easy to write, there were truly times when I felt unsure of this and when I lost sight of the plot, but I made it through and I can't wait to get started on the next installment.

Please please read and review, it will mean more to me that you will ever know .

Au revoir for now.

God bless and ride free, citizens.


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